Rising
by PlantMurderer
Summary: sequel to Waking Up** Characters once in the background, secrets kept beneath, and a world's worth of trouble, all rising up in this sequel to Waking up. lot's of orginal characters, Bella/oc,Leah/oc. spoilers, possibly up through Eclipse.
1. Enter Jamie or Doubts

Stories like ours don't get much press. People nod and smile at stories like ours, but they don't really care. Stories concerning second chances will never be their favorites, because in the backs of their minds they are all thinking one of two things. They either think that you should have been smart and not screwed it up in the first place, or that you should have been the martyr. You know one, they feature in old poetry. They are the women in ghost stories that take place near the sea and the widowers with children to live for.

People want the image of you waiting and loving endlessly, forever after. They want to believe that that "one true love" and or that "one true happiness" exist and that you found it. If you lost it, well then that's it. You're done. Put a bow on it and wrap it up and while you're at fetch about a lifetime's worth of longing, 'cause you're going to need it. Forget that life doesn't work like that. Forget that living that way turns the rest of your life into a bruise, blue-black and stinging and making strangers wince in sympathy.

Back to the point, stories like ours don't get much press, so it was to my extreme surprise that you showed up on this, of all doorsteps, to ask to hear it. It made far more sense once I realized that you'd been to see my brother and sister-in-law. I still have to wonder what made you think, "Gee, I wonder what Jamie has to say about what happens next?"

Whatever it was, you're here and you've asked, so get comfortable and be prepared for a few visitors and for the other person that can lay claim to this story. She is…something. Just wait. She wasn't a big player in Izzy's story, but trust me when I say that once this all over with, you'll wish that she had been.

You didn't come here to listen to me ramble, or maybe you did, but not about this. All warm and comfy? Good. It's time we got started.

* * *

It was a typical morning when I woke up in bed at my family's house in Forks. A week before, I'd gone with them and Izzy to watch as they secured the alliance with the Cullen Clan and I was back again that weekend to meet the Pack and to do what little I could to help as they updated them on the situation with the Volturi and received whatever they might have to report.

I slipped my feet over the edge of the bed, did some stretches, and changed from my pajamas into some workout clothes. Then I stepped out into the hallway and walked to Jack's room, peering into the darkness to confirm that he was either there and sleeping soundly, or had left a note about running off to meet Izzy or deal with the pack. It was very early, so no one so much as stirred as I patrolled the house, protecting them in the only way that I really could in those days. Then I stepped out into the dark morning and started my run.

There was a time when I was younger, when I ran for the sound of cheering and for the pride of being the fastest; not anymore. Now I ran to prove to myself and my family that I was alright. I ran for the endorphins and the peace of repetition. My feet, my heart, my breath, all had their rhythms. When I focused on them I couldn't think about her, and in those early days after it happened, those breaks had helped save my sanity.

When I'd been running for a while without thinking about where I was going, I looked up and realized that I was on Izzy's street. Not only that, she was standing at the end of her driveway, holding an energy bar and a bottle of water. I ran over to her, shoving back the memories of times when Alexandra had taken the same pose, by the side of the track at my practices. It hurt, but I'd learned that grief could be stalled.

"So now you're my pit crew," I asked, stopping and breathing.

"Only when I feel like it. I was hanging out with Alice and she told me that you'd be running by soon," she replied, giving me the water and the energy bar. I finished both pretty quickly. She took the empty wrapper and bottle from me before reaching out and giving my hand a squeeze.

"Are you alright," she asked. She seemed to know that I was fighting grief, but then she shared it. She lived with the paradox of grieving someone she'd never really known. She didn't hurt like I did, but she could sympathize. I didn't need that just then.

"I need to run. See you in a couple of hours, ok, Izzy-bell," I said quickly.

"Ok, Jay-bird," she said, and I froze in the action of turning to run.

"Where did you hear that nickname," I asked, my voice harsh as the grief beat down suddenly.

"That was…? Oh God! Jamie, I'm sorry I don't know. Maybe I just heard it somewhere or maybe Jack mentioned it-"

"I have to go," I said quickly before turning and running back towards home.

She had had called me Jay-bird almost for the whole time that we'd know each other. She'd heard my mother call me that over the phone and she'd loved it, so it had become her nickname for me, given freely by my mother, who'd gotten the family to use it less. Wait. I'm getting ahead of myself. I should have called Izzy to see what she told you, but since now it's too late I'll just say this, to get you caught up:

If Izzy has told the story right, you'll know that Alex, Alexandra Abdima, was my Match. You might also know that she died in a car accident around a month after we started training. We'd been dating for nearly four months.

A lot of things changed in my family after she died, one of which was the use of my nick-name. She was gone. I didn't want to be "jay-bird" if she wasn't around to smile at me as she said it.

The ground was cold as I fell to my knees in the driveway. I sat there, trying to catch my breath and pull myself together. Eventually I dragged myself up and stumbled inside, right into the arms of my mother, who helped me over to the sofa in the living room.

"Do you want some coffee, love, or maybe some breakfast," she asked rubbing my back. She already knew that I'd just want coffee; her Match power had given her intuition a supernatural boost. Combined with her having raised me, it meant that she could nearly read my mind. It was only out of kindness that she asked me anything.

"Coffee, please," I replied, "but first I need a shower."

I rose and stopped by my room to grab a change of clothes and pulled a washcloth and towel from a closet on the way. Soon enough, I let the hot water soothe me, dulling the grief by inches and relaxing the muscles that I'd overextended in my sprint for home. My mother was waiting with a cup of coffee when I got out of the bathroom. She suggested that I go hang out in Dad's study, but the enforced calm of my father's presence before he'd woken up enough to control his match power would have just made matters worse.

I went to my room and played a video game, the violent kind that Alex had hated, not for the violence itself but for the senselessness of the violence. "Grand Theft Auto" had annoyed her to the extent that I'd only really played it when we fought. After a while Jack came to my door, entering without knocking and watching me play for a while before saying, " Izzy is on her way over and we'll be leaving fairly soon after she gets here. She wanted to know if you wanted ride on her motorbike to La Push."

"Sounds like fun, if you don't mind taking my spot in the car with Mom and Dad. Let me save this game and I'll wait for her with you," I said, stealing a car on the game and proceeding to grab a few more points before saving it.

Izzy was pulling up on her motorbike when we stepped out of the door. She pulled off her helmet and greeted Jack in their corny, sickening, but endearing fashion.

"Milord, the night was too long. Make it shorter. Your lady demands it," she said superiorly, tucking her forehead into his neck.

"I'll get right on that ma'am, but first you have to figure out when you plan to sleep, what with the nights being so short, and all," he replied taking her into his arms.

"Good point, and speaking of sleep, I've got a new vision to report," she sighed pulling away from him. I cleared my throat.

"So, Izzy, I hear that I've been invited to ride with you today," I said, entering the conversation by force.

"It's the least I can do after this morning. Come on, brother mine, it'll be fun."

Her tone was bright but her eyes begged forgiveness.

"I'm sure that it will be," I said, reaching out and touching her shoulder lightly, " now let's get inside and hear about that vision."

We gathered in my dad's study, which had been the center for all things paranormal even in our old house in Tucson.

"Izzy-bell," my mother said warmly in greeting taking a quick hug before settling on Dad's desk, next to him.

"It's good to see you Izzy," my father said. She blushed before quickly moving on to the topic at hand. She described seeing Victoria, the vampire that apparently wanted her dead, strolling down the streets of someplace that she hadn't been able to identify, she'd woken up just as her eye's had narrowed onto a girl waiting at a bus stop.

"Is it possible that she's just hunting, that it has nothing to do with you," Dad asked.

"No," my mother answered before Izzy could, "Something's up. I'll contact a few acquaintances. Maybe someone else has seen something. Jack, is anything new with the pack that we need to know before heading to La Push."

"Not really, Sam was concerned about us rushing off to the Volturi without a word, but he understood that there wasn't time or cause to rally the troops just yet," Jack replied, in a tone that was not pompous, but did seem to be just a little over-full of its own importance.

"Good," Dad picked up, " if there are no more questions or concerns, we'd do better not to keep our allies at La Push waiting."

The four of them stood and moved toward the door but a question sprang up in my mind and I stopped them.

"Wait," I said, " I do actually have a question. Why are the Watchers after the Volturi now? They've always been …well power-tripping psychopaths, really, and they've actually helped us in the past, despite not knowing that Watchers existed. Why is their power grabbing such a concern now?"

My mother tilted her head slightly before answering, "If they haven't changed, the world has, or perhaps they are going to try something new. The other Watchers were certain that the Volturi were a threat. The seer that alerted us to the importance of the Cullen boy told us that she'd seen the world in flames because of their actions."

I turned to Jack, who had been looking into mom's eyes since her explanation began. He was frowning oddly, and reaching for Izzy's hand. Taking a calming breath, his voice was a mixture of curiosity and trepidation when he said, "Mother, Are you sure that that's what they told you?"

"Yes, Nimble, I'm sure. Come on now, all of you. We'll be late if we don't get going."

We walked out behind my parents and I saw Jack and Izzy get the vaguely spaced out look of people communicating mentally.

Jack got into the car with our parents and Izzy told them that we would catch up. When they'd driven off, I turned to her.

"What's wrong," I asked directly, "Was she lying?"

"Not exactly," she responded slowly. "She told us what she knows to be the truth, but she has doubts. She thinks that there is more going on than the Watchers are telling us."

Then she mounted her motorbike and instructed me to do the same and to hold on. She fastened on her helmet, and we sped off onto to the morning air.

Speaking of speeding off, I'd better go fetch the co-owner of this story. Like I told you, she's something, and she's waited long enough to have her say.

* * *

Hey guys!! Welcome to the sequel!!! As you can see, we're back with a new point of view and a new structure. Each chapter is going to be a different point of view, though for the most part it should center on two main ones. I'll do what I can to make it clear who's speaking.

Thanks to all my readers and reviewers from Waking up and I hope you'll be just as awesome and supportive of its sequel. How am I doing so far?


	2. Enter Leah or Life is

Life is a bitch. There are times in life when that is all that you can really say, and since those times have been rather frequent for me, I figured that I'd best establish it early on. Life is a bitch, but then so am I sometimes, in more ways you know.

You've asked me to tell my part of the story. Wait, no...that gives you more credit than you've earned, because you didn't ask me. You asked Jamie and he asked me. It's ok that you did. I'm not going to yell at you or anything, because you might have asked me yourself if you'd known that I'd be able to tell you anything worth hearing.

I don't have some cheesy monologue about second chances and whether or not people think we should get them. Unlike Jamie, my mother didn't read me Shakespeare for bedtime stories. Jamie, his brother, and his father, are the only long winded, flowery word spouting, white men that I've had to deal with for long periods of time. The pack helped to ward off their influence. Besides, I really couldn't care less about how much happiness people think that I have a right to. If women like me in stories have played the martyr, the shrew, the penitent, or the freaking clarinet, it's no business of mine.

So let's get down to business. You asked Jamie, who in turn asked me to help tell a story. Jamie, like the long winded fool that he is, has probably forgotten to make time for introductions the lines of his monologue, so I'll do it for him. I am Leah, the only female member of the pack at La Push; you are a nosy, but so far harmless, visitor; and life, well… life was being more of a bitch than usual, to both Jamie and me, when my bit of the story began.

* * *

"Come on, Leah! We're going to be late, and Sam is going to be angry, not to mention Mom and the elders," my brother yelled from downstairs.

"Then we really should get going! It would bother me _so_ much to upset Sam," I muttered sarcastically before yelling back, "I'll be down in a minute! Be a good little puppy and sit!"

I pulled a t-shirt over my head and straightened up before running downstairs, grabbing a backpack with spare clothes in case I lost control, and pulling Seth out of the door by his hand. We met up with the other members of the pack and Sam as they walked over to the fire pit where we would meet with the Watchers and the elders, falling in line.

"They're nearly here. Take your places," Old Quil directed. We settled, forming a half circle on the side of the fire pit that was further into the reservation and a moment later a car pulled up, followed closely by Izzy and a boy that I hadn't met before on her motor bike.

Mr. and Mrs. Stevens got out of the car and met in front of it as Jack and Izzy met by the passenger side door and lined up in front of them, leading them over to us. When they reached their side of the pit their line split in half, Jack and Izzy moving closer to the elders and his parents hanging back. The other boy fell into the place on the opposite end of their half, looking lonely and slightly out of place.

"We welcome you, as always to our home," my mother started. "May I ask who it is that you've brought with you?"

Jack replied politely, " That is my brother, Jamie. He is…a special case. For reasons that are his own to disclose, he takes more of a supporting role in our dealings. His presence changes nothing and the only reason that you haven't met before is that he was away at school during our last meetings."

The conversation continued but I let my mind wander, observing the boy, Jamie. He was standing not far from me and he held himself awkwardly, as though feeling out of place or missing something important. He'd winced visibly as his brother essentially told the elders that he was harmless, if not useless, and then he'd appeared to get lost inside his head.

At first glance he looked a lot like his brother. Both were slim and had blond hair and green eyes, but on closer inspection I noticed that Jamie's hair was a dirtier blond, with streaks of other tones mixed in. Jamie was also more toned and I could see lines in his face that his brother hadn't had experience or pain enough to create. There were also the scars in his arms, thin ones mostly. Izzy likely never mentioned them to you, because she sees Jamie as her brother and she doesn't like to think about where they came from, but they are there; trust me. They had me wondering about them from the first sight.

After a moment, or several, he climbed back out of his head and I watch as his eyes focused on Izzy. Was she the reason why he'd been shunted into a "supporting role"? Had he been Jack's partner before Izzy came along? Had he been betrayed like I had?

It was an assumption, and a wrong one at that, but in my defense, the emotions in his eyes seemed to confirm my story. Resentment, pain, both were present in his eyes as he looked at her. For some reason I liked the idea of having a kindred spirit.

"What are you staring at?"

I jumped slightly. He had turned and spoken to me while I'd been distracted. I responded defensively out of habit.

"Not much I guess, if the best your own brother could do to describe your worth was to call you 'supportive', " I sneered.

"Well then I guess you must be easily entertained, because you've been staring at 'not much' for nearly a quarter of an hour. I may be on the bench, but I'm still a Watcher. Did you think that I wouldn't notice," he snapped back.

"Well sorry to burst your bubble, Sidekick, but I don't think much of you at all," I replied taking a step toward him. A hand on my arm stopped me. It was Seth.

"Don't do this Leah. Come on, I think that we could hear what they're saying better from over there," he said pointing toward a spot near where Sam and the elders stood talking with the Watchers. At nearly the same moment Mr. Stevens walked over and stood behind him for a moment. Jamie rolled his eyes before turning and walking to stand closer to his parents. I followed Seth to a spot closer to the others, glancing over at Jamie from my new position. I saw his mother hand him a note pad and some paper and a moment later, after I looked away, a paper airplane hit me in the head. I unfolded it to find a note.

"You make for a bad spy."

I studiously avoided watching him for the rest of formal part of the meeting. Later, when business had apparently been taken care of, Jack led Izzy and his brother over to us to hang out, and get to know each other.

They made their rounds through the pack, telling everyone hello and giving Jamie and Izzy a run down on us, and pointing out things that were shared, like Izzy's apparent love of Wolverine from the x-men movies. When they got to me he didn't have some cutesy factoid to offer. I kept to myself a lot. Jack was an ok person but my life was weird enough without adding in a friend from a family of creature stalking outsiders with hero complexes.

Despite Jack's lack of knowledge concerning me, Izzy and I hit it off pretty well. She looked me square in the eyes and despite her current happiness I could see the remnants of something familiar. Then she spoke and I figured that I might have to retract may statement about being friends with creature stalking outsiders.

"So I've met the fearless leader, the jocks, and the friendly and good natured types, which would make you what? The assassin," She asked honestly but with some humor in her voice.

"More like the woman scorned, but then, I'm not sure there's much of a difference some days so…" I trailed off with a shrug.

"We should hang out some time, maybe go for lunch? I'm not too far out from being a woman scorned myself and between all the fairytale stuff and that well… I don't know about you but I'm kind of short on people who can relate and who could whine with me over a good meal. A bunch of the other girls who know about everything don't, you know... eat," she said, adding a humorless laugh at the end.

"I might like that. Your dad has our number, or I guess you could just ride with him," I replied evenly. She nodded and moved on.

Jamie had hung back, ostensibly trying to avoid a confrontation, but I noticed a slight warmth in his face as she took his hand and led him back towards the older Stevens. So maybe he wasn't the kindred spirit I'd taken him for? Or maybe he was just putting on some kind of show?

I didn't know what to make of Jamie Stevens.

I watched them ride away a while later, on or in their respective vehicles, before letting Seth pull me along to a thick stand of trees where I could strip out of my clothes and phase in privacy before racing off to patrol the area with Jacob and Seth. For the first instant after the change, I always loved being a wolf. The strength and the power, and the speed were all wonderful.

Then the others changed and my thoughts were swept up into the strange and open expanse of the pack mind. My brother's grief over our father, Jacob's heartache over Izzy's choosing Jack, a dozen private worries, and fantasies that were never mine to know poured into my head and I threw my pain forward like a shield, and summoned their nightmares like a sword to protect the secrets that this form denied me.

_Stop it Sis, we've gotta run. It hurts when you do that, _Seth's mind yelled. I couldn't hurt my brother, so I let myself get wrapped up in the task of keeping watch over our people, and keeping an eye out for the cold ones.

_Whatever, _I thought back_, let's just hurry. I want my own thoughts back without having to fight for them and God knows how what perverted fantasies I'll pick up from you two this time. _

I'd seen too many of the other pack members in compromising situations to feel like adding more experiences to that list.

Later I ran into the stand of trees where I'd left my clothes and phased back before dressing and going home to eat lunch. After that I did some homework and studied for a while before going to the beach and watching the waves.

I stared out at the ocean and remembered days that Sam and I had spent out there, laughing and kissing in the waves, hiding from the prying eyes of the gossips that thought he was some sort of drug addict because he'd disappeared for a few days.

I remembered the warmth of love and of the sun, unfettered by reality, unbound by obligation. I remembered him loving me exclusively. Then I opened my eyes and I was painfully aware of the fact that my dream had died and I was going to be the bridesmaid at his wedding to the woman who'd been my best friend, my favorite cousin.

I already knew that unless something changed, I would have his memories of every moment of bliss they experienced. Sam's mind would send them directly to mine, via the pack mind. And the boys wondered why I hated to phase, why I made them hate it too, sometimes.

I forced myself to stop thinking focusing on the colors that the sunset made on the water as it set.

At home Mom would be grieving and Seth would be sitting somewhere polishing his halo, and since I wasn't really up for either, I sat in the sand for as long as I could before leaving.

I helped make dinner and washed the dishes, and I wondered when we'd learn to have conversations without Dad, or if our house would always be so oppressively silent that deaf people would complain. Thinking about living as a family of three made me hurt inside, but I didn't have much else to think about instead, so I went up to my room to sleep.

In my dreams, I saw Emily through Sam's eyes over and over again, intermingled with a few nightmares of things that hadn't scared me before, and one solitary dream of a day long gone, spent running up and down the beach with our father. Even in his dreams my brother was an angel, letting me see myself with our father, letting me be happy, if only in the long seconds of a dream.

Because life was, and you'll don't have to excuse me for my language, a terrible and spiteful bitch, it was that happy dream that faded first in the morning, leaving me to deal with the bitterness and the fear all on my own.

At the time, I didn't realize that I wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping that night, but you'll hear plenty about that from Jamie. It's his turn to pick up the story now.

* * *

And so we have Leah's point of view! Is everyone pretty well informed on Leah's back-story and the situation with her and Sam and Emily? If not don't worry about it, because Jamie'll have to find out about it eventually so you'll get it then if you don't know it all now. (sorry about the repeated use of one swear word by the way, if it bugs anyone too much i'll avoid it in the future)

A lot of what we got about Leah before Breaking Dawn, was from other people and potentially biased so while I'm trying to make sure she stays in character, I may add things for the sake of making her more real.

**Thanks to the readers and reviewers**, and the (awesome but just a little …) creepy lurking people that read this but never tell me what they think. I am always pleased to hear from you and I worry when you're quiet for too long.

**Da future**: Back to Jamie's point of view as we follow him back to college learn a few things that will most certainly not be on the test.

I'll try to have it up as soon as possible but it'll likely be about a week.


	3. Jamie and meetings

Ok, I'm back. So let's just pick up where she left off, ok? Do you need a break? You could go get a soda from the fridge or maybe help yourself to some snacks. I'd wait for you. No? Are you sure? Alright then.

After the meet and greet with the elders and the pack at La Push, I rode home on Izzy's bike. When we arrived, just seconds ahead of my parents and Jack, she pulled off her helmet and walked over to Jack. I called out to them, trying to get their attention before they got too deep into their lords and ladies exchange to notice outside influences.

"Less than freshmen," I called. Jack and Izzy both rolled their eyes in the classic way of exasperated younger siblings and walked over.

"What can we do for you," Jack started, letting Izzy finish with, "oh mighty college sophomore whom we are not worthy to address."

It was disconcerting to see them starting to finish each other's sentences in the way that my parents did, but then Alexandra and I had done the same thing.

"You can hang out with me, because I require entertainment and competition on a video game. Izzy, I'm counting on you for the competition," I said with false severity.

Jack smacked my arm and Izzy hit him.

"Hey," he exclaimed, affronted.

"Turnabout is fair play, love," she said pulling away from him and taking my arm. I made a show of leading her into the house and glaring at Jack when he came too close to us.

We settled in my room, which was arranged similarly to Jack's, and I closed the door before revealing the other reason I'd requested their company.

"Alright, what do you mean Mom has doubts about what we were told? Why would we be going after the Volturi if not because they've proved a threat," I asked

"I don't know," Jack replied, "I can't summon truths, only see them. All she knows is what they've told her, so all I know is that she doubts it."

"You've been a Watcher for longer than us," Izzy pointed out, "You know them better. If any of us know why else they might want the Volturi gone, it's you."

She was right. I sat down on my bed and they shared the small sofa. I thought about what I knew of Watchers.

"The Watchers don't take deceit lightly. Because of our nature, we move in shadows, but in order to function we make our meetings like candles in darkness, points of light and clarity. All Watchers have equal power and equal voice, and to maintain that, everyone has to know what's going on. Mom having reason to doubt the collective word of the Watchers is a frightening prospect because if someone has lied, then the nature of our group has been compromised, and if that someone is a group and not just a single individual... well, it's a very bad thing," I lectured solemnly.

I watched as the gravity of what we'd discovered settled into their faces. They were quiet for a moment, leaning in towards each other before Izzy looked up and asked, "Are we sure that her doubts mean that something is up? She is, after all human. People doubt things."

"But most people don't have extensive powers of intuition," Jack replied, "if it was anyone else, you might be right but Bella, Mom's doubts have a little more weight behind them."

He wrapped an arm around her, and gave her a light squeeze before continuing, "We need more information. If nothing else, this is worth looking into. Jamie, do you know when the watchers decided that the Volturi were a threat?"

I sighed, feeling the emptiness of the place beside me as I watched them shift to accommodate each other's movements on the small couch. After a moment I replied, "No, there was no major threat when Alex and I started training and they stopped telling me things after… well after I stopped. They figured that it would be easier to just let me be normal until or unless you found your match and needed my help."

Izzy let out a sigh of deep frustration before standing and moving to lean against the frame of the closed door.

"So we have a potentially very big problem, no information, and no clue as to whom within the watchers we can trust to give us answers excluding your parents who may or may not have been lied to. Is that about the gist of it," she asked exasperated.

"We also have the two of you," I pointed out, "let's focus on getting information, for now. We need to know what's going on."

Jack nodded before adding, "In that case, I guess it's nap time for you, Izzy. Maybe you'll see where all this controversy is headed. If we know the end then we'll at least be able to work backward."

She didn't look pleased at all, but Jack stood and took her hand and some measure of her frustration melted away instantly.

"I'm not really tired, but I suppose I could try," she said resigned, and pulled Jack back towards the sofa.

"You can nap on my bed if you'd like," I offered, "though I will have to ask that one of you remains awake and vertical at all times."

Izzy gave an exaggerated gasp and put on an appalled expression.

"Milord, I do believe that your brother is making lewd insinuations about us. Avenge us my love, for these aspersions wound me greatly," she said dramatically.

Jack approached me, but before he could obey "his lady's" wishes I asked, "Izzy, why am I your brother when he hits me and his when I say something distasteful?"

"If you have to ask you'll never know," she said, trying not to laugh before turning to Jack and continuing, "Nimble lord, I've changed my mind. You'd likely do better to help me get some sleep so that maybe we'll get some answers."

Izzy settled down on my bed, and Jack sat on the floor near the end where her head rested. He stroked her hair for a while and, soon enough, she was sleeping. Jack left her on the bed and the two of us played a racing game. I beat him twice before letting him win, and he gloated and crowed over his victory in his own quiet and gentlemanly manner.

Nearly an hour later, Jack and I were startled as Izzy began to talk loudly in her sleep.

"No! Help her! The fire! NO!"

She was thrashing and convulsing and Jack was at her side before I realized that he'd moved. My door burst open as Mom and Dad came to see what was wrong with Izzy.

When they realized what was going on, they had me help in getting Jack out of the room. He struggled, but after a moment he relented and we took him to his room.

"Call to her through the bond," our mother told him, "If you can't reach her from the outside, try to make contact within."

I watched his face go blank and space as he drifted into meditation.

No one stopped him when he stood and walked out of the room a moment later. Izzy needed him. We followed a moment later to find them curled up on my couch.

Izzy looked less frantic but there was no getting around the distress that lingered like a miasma in her features.

"What did you see," I asked.

"Fire. A young woman was standing was amongst the flames. She was screaming. I was standing behind her, so all I could really see was that she had dark hair," she murmured, closing her eyes and tensing against the memory, "Someone should call the other Watchers, maybe someone else has seen her."

"Right," My father replied, "I'll do that now."

While he made phone calls, my mother herded Izzy off into the kitchen for some tea, and Jack and I followed, content to comfort her with our presence.

The next day, I got up early and put my things into my car for the drive back to school. It was a rare sunny day in Forks, so I drove out to First Beach after getting directions from Izzy and Jack.

The sun felt nice on my skin as I got out of the car. It was so peaceful, with the sound of the waves and the distant noise of other people coming on the wind from further down the beach.

I could remember a time when coming to the beach alone wouldn't have appealed to me, a time before Watchers, before Alexandra, when my world had been lighter. I could remember running around on the beach with Jack and splashing in the waves. In that moment though, I just stared out at the water and let the memory of Alexandra come to me slowly.

This was the kind of day that she'd loved best, the spread out empty days full of sunshine, or so she'd told me. I never spent a summer with her.

I let the memory take hold. I imagined feeling the vibrations of life humming around me, my match power at its strongest; feeling her life, the difference between a repeated tap and a heartbeat. I pictured her eyes, her hair, her voice…

"What are you staring at?"

A rude and annoyed voice sent my train of thought so far off of its track that I could almost hear the explosion.

Leah Clearwater stood, glaring at me as though I'd done something to offend her.

"I wasn't staring. I was doing this amazing thing called thinking, perhaps you've heard of it," I replied, irritated at her for destroying the peace that I'd enjoyed, "what are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be off taking out losers with red contacts and body glitter or something?"

She rolled her eyes, "and shouldn't you be off Watching things? God that sounds dull! And you don't even really watch things; you just support people that do. What? Did you get lost while fetching eye drops?"

I felt several uncharitable words rise towards my mouth, but as I was raised by a mother who would have had me executed for muttering them, I reigned in my temper before replying, "Why yes, and if you'll direct me to the nearest store, I'll pick you up a flea collar while I'm there."

Her face flushed in annoyance and distantly it occurred to me that I was doing the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with a missile launcher.

"If that's what you need to do to feel less worthless, have at it Sidekick," she replied. I tried to think of what signs I should be watching for, what might warn me that she was about to lose control. Realizing that I didn't know, I resolved to make an advance to the rear, and leave before it became necessary to run. I needed a good distraction; maybe a Shakespearian reference to confuse her? She didn't seem like the well-read type.

"Damn, Kate, they weren't kidding when they called you a shrew," I shot back. She did actually seem confused by that…for all of about five seconds.

"So now you're my Lit teacher? Just… go," she said, exasperated.

I obeyed, trying to look less stunned than I was that she'd caught the reference. I'd made the mistake of underestimating Leah Clearwater. It wouldn't happen again.

* * *

Yeah, about following Jamie back to college….maybe next chapter? I really meant to include it in this one but this felt like an ending point and the chapter is late already, so…sorry, it'll definitely happen in the next Jamie centric chapter.

Thanks to my readers and reviewers, the force of your ongoing awesomeness lights the world.

I'll give a shout out to whomever tells me which play Jamie referenced near the end.

**I've decided to do the outtakes for the top 3 reviewers thing again** with this fic so…review if you want to try to win an outtake. Ties will be broken based on the shout outs won for references (or for any other reason that I might give a shout out)

I'll aim to get the next chapter out by next Saturday but it depends on my schedule this coming week so we'll see.


	4. Leah says Men are idiots

_Men are idiots_, I thought as Jamie walked toward his car after that first argument on the beach. Ever since my 12th grade Literature teacher had assigned _Taming of Shrew _in class the jokes had been rolling in.

"Ha, ha, ha maybe you'll learn something from Kate."

"Ha, ha, ha I bet she can relate to her, what a…"

"Ha, ha, ha wonder who will tame Leah."

The pack mind meant that they all knew just enough about the play to make references to it. Never mind that Shakespeare's famed shrew had been abused, and broken in the end. Never mind that Petruchio was a drunk and brute. Never mind that the idiot male teacher who'd assigned the book had been utterly unwilling to hear that Kate had ever been anything but a silly, man hating, burden to her father and sister or that the play was less than hilarious, even to the extent that he'd sent me to the principal's office for insubordination when I'd quoted the play at him in an effort to get him to listen ("your betters have endured me say my mind…"). I'd nearly phased in the classroom when someone had made another joke.

"Leah, sit down, I mean God, is your middle name Katherine or something?"

Ha, freaking ha, ha.

In retrospect Jamie couldn't have known just how done I was listening to jokes from Shakespeare's most unfunny comedy, but at the time it only helped to secure him the top spot on the list of people that I'd most like to do minor physical harm, given the opportunity.

After Jamie left, I stretched out on the sand and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on my skin, safe in the knowledge that the leering eyes of my brother's peers were directed at more willing targets further down the beach. I was wearing a bikini top and shorts, and the warm sand felt wonderful against my back.

I closed my eyes and remembered days of building sand castles with Emily, before she'd ever met Sam, when it had been easy. We'd worn matching flip flops and taken them off to run in the sand often switching or mixing the two pairs accidentally. It occurred to me in some of my more maudlin moments that my life would have been so much better if she'd stuck to accidentally taking my flip flops.

I opened my eyes, hearing someone walking towards me then closed them again, because it was Jacob and I didn't particularly feel like dealing with him and his too well adjusted self.

"Hey Leah," he said, cautiously enough that I could tell that he was reconsidering his decision to disturb me even as he spoke.

"Time to patrol already," I asked.

"No, it's just…I was thinking about my situation with Izzy an-"

"When are you not? I swear, you even dream about her," I shot back, trying to steer him away from where I figured he might be going.

"Look, I just wanted to say that our situations are sort of similar, ok. You're not the only one who's ever been hurt," he said, sighing exasperatedly.

"And you're not the first freak from the pack that's tried to play therapist with me. Go to Hell," I sighed, rolling over onto my stomach and bringing my arms up to cradle my head.

"Save me a seat," he replied, annoyed, before walking away and leaving me alone.

People did that a lot in those days. They left me alone because I was the girl with the broken heart. I'd been the girl who's boyfriend disappeared and returned under suspicious circumstances. I was the girl who'd been left for a second time, this time forever and I was going to be the bridesmaid at what would once have been my wedding. My father was dead, buried recently. To put it simply, I was the girl that love liked to beat with hard objects in her spare time, and no one wanted to get hit by a stray shot.

Well, maybe someone wanted to chance it. Izzy had extended a hand to me, she'd seemed nice enough. She wasn't the kindred spirit I'd thought that Jamie might be, but she could be a friend. I hadn't had too many of those since Sam's return after he'd phased for the first time. People had shunned him, and I'd lost quite a few friends for my unwillingness to do the same. At the time it had seemed so clear a choice, a permanent love over temporary friendships. Magic or whatever you'd call the varied phenomena of shape shifting and imprinting, well they made life a little bit more of a bitch than it had a right to be, and in keeping with our theme they were likely invented by a man. Men are idiots.

I sat up and watched the waves for a moment, before getting up and walking back towards home.

When I passed by a more crowded section of the beach, a few boys that I recognized from school either took leave of their senses or simply decided that they'd lived for too long.

"Hey Baby, smile for me why don't you! I could make you smile," one of them hollered as another gestured crudely behind him.

"Come on, pretty girl, with legs like those it's selfish not to share," another one yelled, and the first guy and their friends wolf whistled in the background.

I felt myself begin to shake as my body attempted to forsake its human form and I bolted off towards the tree line while the cat-calling idiots hooted and hollered and leered ant my retreating form. I ripped off my shorts but the bikini top I'd worn was torn to pieces as I phased, the straps cutting into my shoulders before they snapped

Instantly bombarded by a world of new scents, and the noise of the world and of Jacob and Paul's thoughts as they patrolled, and the sudden loss of my privacy, I screamed in my mind. I threw up the pain and fear and anger forcing it outward in order to cope until my mind settled and I could assess the situation. I wasn't needed on patrol so I lay down and tried to maintain a mental silence and, failing that, began to repeat the one thought that rang the truest for me that day. Say it with me this time. _Men are idiots._

Even with my mantra, there was no holding back the memory of the boys on the beach, and no preventing myself from hearing how many of my fellow pack members had had similar thoughts. There was also no denying Sam's utter lack of jealousy at his pack's apparent interest. I reached for grief, the closest thing to calm that I could manage, and through the half frozen ocean of my pain over my father's death I found the way back to my human form.

I lay there for a moment, naked and breathless in the dirt before carefully making my way back to my shorts. I slipped them on and covered my top half with my arms until I found a bandana that someone had left in the dirt. I tucked the corners under my arms and slowly managed to make my way back to my house without being arrested for indecency.

Mom was making lunch when I walked in and I ran upstairs to put on a shirt before coming back down to help.

"Which shirt was it this time," Mom asked lightly, glancing up from the sandwich she'd been making.

"It was just an old swimsuit top, and no one saw me," I replied, washing my hands in the sink and moving to help her.

"Leah, you've got to get a better hold on your temper. Did the straps cut you this time? Let me see."

She walked over and checked my shoulders where the wounds had almost completely healed.

"They look like they'll be fine, but you've got to learn to control your temper," she scolded.

"It wasn't my fault. These stupid boys-"

"You can't let them get to you. You know what can happen if you can't get away in time. You've seen Emily's face. You were chosen to protect our people, but you could destroy them all in your blind anger if you don't learn to control yourself," she said harshly before touching my face softly and continuing, "come on, let's finish making lunch."

"Yes, Ma'am. I'll try to do better," I replied almost sulkily. I knew what was at stake, and it was frustrating that even my own mother seemed to think that I didn't understand the importance of control. Her mention of Emily hadn't helped matters. Sam had hurt her because of his frustration with the situation, he'd phased by accident in a rush of self anger because he couldn't love me anymore, because imprinting had put Emily at the center of his world and left him to chose between defying his between defying his very nature and breaking both of our hearts. He'd scarred her face horribly and I… I tried to avoid thinking about it because when I did, the demon on my shoulder whispered words like "justice" or made remarks about how at least her scars were visible.

My brother came home and we ate our way through five sandwiches each before I went into the living room and turned on the T.V so that I could watch something while I digested.

I flipped past a few channels before something on the news caught my attention. A stuffy looking man in a suit was sitting behind a desk next to a leggy blond wearing too much make-up, pretty typical, but it was the subject matter, not the news casters that got my attention.

"I tell you, Mandy, the world just isn't what it used to be," he said sternly.

"Is that so," she said, her voice high pitched and perky sounding.

"Yes, it is or I wouldn't have said anything, would I have? But that's not the point. There's been a string of murders and disappearances in Seattle recently," he paused looking towards his blond co-worker expectantly, before rolling his eyes and continuing, "The death toll is rising almost nightly but the police have very few suspects and leads right now. If anyone has any information regarding these murders please call 206-743-2225."

"Well that sounds just awful. A string of murders? Someone should cut it," Mandy replied and the stuffy looking man looked utterly beaten, like he'd suffered too long.

Men are idiots, but clearly they aren't the only ones.

I wondered, briefly if the watchers knew what was going on in Seattle, if they were involved and on which side. I resolved to mention it to the Stevens boy, Jack, when I had a chance.

I watched a while longer, for the sake of watching the man, who seemed to drift further into depression with each moment, and because occasionally I saw something like triumph in the woman's eyes when he was too busy agonizing to pay attention to her.

After about an hour I walked upstairs and studied for while before falling asleep on my books.

My dreams were littered with references from books and movies I'd never read or scene, touched by longing for loves I'd never lost, and bathed in the contentment that glowed like a light in the mists of the pack mind whenever the imprinted members of the pack spent time with their loved ones.

I slept so well that I didn't even snap at Seth when he woke me up, several hours later, for dinner.

* * *

Hey guys, sorry this is late, but things have been getting a little nuts lately so finding time to write both this and the harry potter fic that I co-author has been hard.

obviously i don't own taming of the shrew, it just ...has a special place (cough in hell cough cough) in my heart.

Thanks for hanging in there and I hope you like this chapter. **Next chapter **will be from Jamie's point of view sort of a week in the life thing. For the record, Leah will brood less eventually but we're still in the earlier phases right now.

Review if you can because I'm going to write an outtake for the top reviewers at the end.

I'll get this next chapter up as soon as time college allow me to.

**PS : **Leah's opinions are not necessarily mine, so male readers should not be horribly offended.


	5. Jamie and Learning or Decisions

So, look guys, because Leah just assumed you'd understand that her stopping meant that it was my turn, I'll go ahead and make sure that it's clear. It is my turn. Clear? OK, stop glaring at me! I know you're not slow or anything… I'll quit while I'm behind.

Anyway, where we last left off, I was retreating from Leah's presence after I underestimated her on the beach. We have a lot of story to cover, so let's just get on with it.

* * *

After leaving the beach, I stopped off at home to say my goodbyes and eat a quick lunch with Jack and Izzy before getting back into my car and starting on the trip back to school.

As you may or may not know, I was a sophomore at the University of Washington in Seattle at the time. I had yet to declare a major and at the time I was only really there because I knew that Alex would have wanted it for me. In the back of my mind I'd been adding and subtracting things from my list of potential majors based on how useful they'd be as a Watcher, but since I'd given up my Match Power, I could really do whatever I wanted, so long as it didn't require long periods of time away. The strongest contender was Behavioral Science, which would let me learn to read people and could lead to a career as an analyst for a government agency, though Biology and several others were still under consideration.

On any given return trip before, I might have been thinking about it. I might have been weighing options and trying on majors like shirts by saying things like "ok, I'm a Psych major" and deciding what sounded right. On that specific trip, I must admit, my major was the farthest thing from my mind.

I was thinking about Leah Clearwater.

I'd mentioned our, shall we say…interaction from that morning to Jack and Izzy over lunch. I'd included enough detail to show that it hadn't been entirely pleasant, and Jack had shrugged it off with claims that Leah wasn't really all that pleasant to anyone. Izzy, on the other hand, had reprimanded me for fighting back, claiming that Leah was likely in more pain than I knew and was only being defensive. She hadn't told me why Leah might be hurting, just that she was.

I'd been given just enough information to be curious.

Leah had told Izzy that she was a woman scorned. I didn't quite know what to do with that information. I couldn't rationalize the image of the strong-willed young woman with a poison tipped tongue with the image of a girl who'd let a simple break up affect her so strongly. What information was I missing? Why should I respond to her rudeness with anything but a sneer and sharp words? Who did she think she was, to grieve so strongly because some boy had left her? Regardless of the situation that had caused him to leave her, he was still alive. She could still see him, watch him move on to some tramp, and get her revenge someday in seeing him grow old and fat. What did she have to grieve over?

Just her father, I remembered. Was she bitter because of him?

I turned up the radio and focused on the road. I had enough pain on my own without adding hers, and the last thing that I needed was to turn up at the dorms looking as though I'd been crying. That'd just worry Andy, my roommate. His actual name is Randall Morris, and he was a Music major.

Andy is, and has always been, a genuinely happy individual. Slow to anger and hard to upset, he's the kind of guy that even a grieving martyr like me had could find a smile for, because when someone is that joyful about life it makes you want to give them reasons to stay that way.

Andy was about to leave for the dining hall for dinner when I arrived back at school and opened the door to my dorm room.

"Why if it isn't Stevens Wonder," he greeted grinning and moving to help me with my bags.

"Why if it isn't Randy Moore," I responded, shoving his arm lightly and smiling back.

I grabbed my meal card from my one of my bags and we headed on towards the dining hall.

"How was the weekend at home," he asked, bringing a dark skinned hand up to scratch at his short curly hair.

"It was good, as always. Got to see my brother at work."

"That's great," he said, with a warm smile, " Did you meet anyone new?"

I glared lightly at him. He was always hoping that I'd meet someone, and I never quite knew why.

"I met a few," I answered after a moment.

"Anyone special?"

He raised and lowered his eyebrows suggestively.

"Not really," I replied.

"Then we have progress," he noted as we walked into the dining hall and lined up to swipe our cards.

"How's that, Andy?"

He just smirked before patting me on the back and leaning in to say "You usually say 'never again'."

I froze for a moment before shaking my head, to clear it, before swiping my card and getting in line for food. Around ten minutes later we were sitting and eating and I returned his question.

"How was your weekend?"

"It was good, I had time to practice and compose without someone leaning over my shoulder and asking too many questions," he replied," and it was a nice break from the noises that that game station of yours makes."

"So, you missed me," I asked, laughing.

"If that's what you need to believe, then yeah man, I missed you. Really though, what with those murders taking place in the city, it's good to have you around if only that you could run for help, " he said. The brightness in his eyes seemed to dim slightly at the thought.

"Murders?"

I hadn't heard anything about any murders.

"Yeah, Stevens Wonder, I get that you're blind, but you could at least listen to the news on occasion," he fired back almost amusedly. His face grew stern as he continued. "There's been a rash of murders and disappearances in the city recently. According to the news, the cops don't have much to go on either. It's sort of creepy."

"Sounds like it," I affirmed before changing the subject. I'd have to ask my parents about it later.

That night I unpacked my bags and then collapsed onto my bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

The next morning I woke up early and went out for my usual run before coming back to shower before class. The room was empty when I got out of the shower. Andy had gotten up and gone to the practice rooms when I'd left for my run, and I likely wouldn't see him again till lunch, when he'd come jabbering on in some strange mix of English and Musician about the progress he'd made. The room was quiet without him, so I turned on the radio and let it play while I dressed and turned it off after I finished because I was starting to get a headache.

I took some Tylenol then grabbed my bag and headed off to class.

The morning passed without incident. In class, Social Psychology that morning, I sat next to Mack, who I'd met in orientation for transfer students. We were more acquaintances than actual friends, but he was a decent enough guy and we met up after class sometimes to study and play video games. Andy walked back into the room before lunch to find us doing just that.

"Well you two look like your enjoying yourselves," he said brightly as put his sheet music into its proper place on his shelf.

"I am," Mack said grinning, " but poor Jamie here can't seem to catch a break."

"More like poor Mack can't tell when someone's losing on purpose to bolster his self esteem," I shot back.

Andy just laughed and reminded us that lunch was approaching. We wrapped up our game and parted ways, as he went on to eat lunch with his girlfriend off campus. I was about to go to the dining hall with Andy when my cell phone rang. It was Jack. I told Andy to go on without me.

"Hey, less than freshman, what's up," I asked lightly.

"Quite a bit, we've heard from the Watchers. None of them have seen the girl from Izzy's vision, and we've been asked not to pursue it," he told me, then there was a pause before Izzy spoke, "which means that I'll be borderline narcoleptic until we have enough information to figure this out."

I laughed, "That's my girl! What else is new?"

"Apparently I wasn't the only one whose been seeing Victoria. They think that she might be behind the murders in Seattle," Izzy replied, fear softening her voice and raising its pitch.

"You heard about them on the news," I asked.

"No, Leah called before classes this morning. Good thing too! Some Watchers we are, not knowing what's going on in our own backyard," she said before Jack picked up and continued, "Discussion has turned towards action. If Victoria creates too much of a fuss, it'll draw the eyes of the Volturi towards our area and we can't have that if we're going to use the false alliance that Izzy started during the rescue mission."

"Right," I replied, " Which of our Allies will be assisting if you decide to act?"

"We're sacrificing sleep tonight to meet with both groups, and call the Watchers," Izzy answered, "We'll have a decision by Wednesday, you should be called to vote before then, and if the decision is to act then I look forward to visiting with you this weekend. Shall we factor you into our plans?"

I paused for a moment, thinking and trying to figure how much good I could really do if they decided to act.

"Only," I said, defeated, " as a help. If I'd hinder your plans in the slightest, do it without me and I'll treat you two to a campus tour and a meal when you're done."

"Jamie," Izzy sighed sadly. She was trying to comfort me, and showing herself to be every bit the little sister that Alex had once hoped that Jack's match would be.

"It's alright, Izzy-Bell. Remember I chose this. I gave it up knowing that this sort of thing would be my cancellation fee. I had my reasons and you know them. Now, you and Nimble get going. Your lunch period should be ending soon."

"Ok, Jamie," Jack said, "we'll keep you informed. Stay safe."

"You do the same."

I went on to my next class early. I wasn't hungry anymore.

* * *

I arrived early to Biology, and I sat next to a girl that I knew from Geometry class in high school. I didn't then and still don't recall her name, as much as it shames me not know, so we'll just have to call her The Girl From Geometry. She'd transferred into the class recently and we talked while we waited for the professor to arrive.

"Hey, you're Jamie Stevens! I saw you in some track meets," she said enthusiastically as I sat down.

"That's me," I grinned, " and you're The Girl From Geometry! Wow, you've changed since I last saw you."

We had the same hokey discussion that all people who have graduated from the same school have, making reference to old teachers and jokes we'd outgrown. It was nice and I found myself noticing things like how pretty her smile was and how pleasant her voice seemed.

The professor and the rest of the class filed in with time and class started. I paid full attention… to my thoughts, which seemed to want me to understand that The Girl From Geometry was exactly the sort that Leah Clearwater would have ignored or hated, too soft and dear. Because really, I cared what Leah Clearwater thought of anyone. Eventually my brain tuned into the lecture and all was well.

After class I studied over my notes from that day. Then, I pulled out the unseen book and studied more. Andy was out late, likely playing some instrument or another at some club or another in the city, and I felt a rush of loneliness as I closed the unseen book and prepared for bed.

Unlike at the beach the day before, she came to me all at once then. Like an apparition, my whole memory of her rose out of the night and sat down in my mind, like the raven from Poe's poem. Dark haired and lovely, I could nearly see her, hear her.

"Cheer up Jay-bird. Do you want to go run in circles, love? That usually helps."

"Oh, Jay-bird you know I'd love to go with you but I'm going on that trip to see my cousin soon, and I need to finish this letter. Don't fly too far, in a moment I'll be done and you'll have me forever after."

I fell asleep to the memory of her scent and her voice.

Alexandra, my Match.

Then the next morning I woke up, and mornings like that are why I call grieving lovers martyrs.

* * *

Tuesday drifted by in a fog of worry and waiting. A series of conference calls, some of which were half way around the world, were deciding whether or not my family would be asked to run headlong into danger. I could have picked up the phone and joined in, but since I'd given up my Match power the watchers had been reluctant to include me in proceedings. I had my vote, and it would be needed to declare the unanimous decision to act, but the Watchers that I wasn't directly related to tended to push me out of debates or planning.

At the time I just assumed that it was because I lacked a Match, that I was easier to ignore without a second voice making my points that much louder. If only I'd realized… but that's neither here nor there.

At a little after three in the morning on Wednesday, my cell phone vibrated and woke me up. It was the Watchers. Time zone differences made for odd hours. I put a jacket on over my Pajamas and walked outside into the freezing cold darkness that was the night as it made its final stand before surrendering to morning.

There was a roll call and then greetings in numerous languages before the group settled down and the meeting began. There were seven central voices, one from the cardinal direction of the most important city in each continent as determined long ago. They functioned as task masters, insuring that actual work was accomplished and seeing to the roll calls. They had no real power, just the duty to insure order.

The Watchers of Antarctica started the meeting with the traditional statements, speaking in English because it was what most of us knew.

"Alright everyone, come to order," a female voice, soft but strong, intoned, "We have met often in these past days, to discuss the matter of the trouble sparking up in the American West, and how it relates to our current action in Southern Europe. Now we come together to make our choice."

A male voice continued, " We are all present and aware, and though we meet in separate and in secret, some of us in darkness, we all agree to make this meeting a light in the darkness, a point of truth amidst secrecy, a point of connection in spite of distance. We are the hand that holds the scales. We work to uphold the balance. If any here desires to tip those scales, let them speak and then be banished henceforth from our circle."

There was a silence like that of the grave. I wondered if those who'd lied to my parents about the reasons for acting against the Volturi were there. I wondered if they felt guilty as they listened.

The female voice from before rose once more. "Then we seek the same goal. Let us lift our voices as one and proclaim by saying 'Aye' three times if the decision is that The Watchers of the American West should, with the help of our allies there, take action to prevent the happenings in Seattle from affecting our other plans."

I joined in the solid and resounding "aye" followed by two more, each separated by three seconds of silence. As much as I feared for my family, if casting them into danger now would keep the eyes of the Volturi off of them for longer, it was the only option.

The male voice rose again.

"And if any disapprove of this plan, let them too lift their voices, that we might hear their grievances and come to an agreement."

The silence that followed was deafening.

"Then we are decided," my mother stated firmly, startling me slightly. "We will act in the coming weekend and send word of our results. Now if no one has anything to report, I move that we adjourn. My children and husband need their rest and my youngest son's Match needs to sneak back to her father's home."

There were soft snorts and chuckles to that, before with another set of "ayes" it was agreed and the meeting ended.

I slipped back inside to sleep more before class, and when I couldn't, I tried to meditate in the way that I'd taught Jack to. If it hadn't been so early or late, I might have recognized sooner. I might have seen it then, the thread, the little part of me not gone, but not present, the odd and perfect little feeling that sings to any Watcher who is not too tired to pay attention of new beginnings.

And now, it's Leah's turn again.

* * *

Hey guys, I thank you for reading this chapter and I am so sorry that I've been a bit unpredictable with my updating schedule. I'll try to do better but as the semester draws to a close, good little college students get busy.

So now we're speeding forward into the actual plot! The Watchers have decided to take the fight to Victoria! **Next Chapter**: Plans are solidified and possibly attempted as Leah gives us a Wolf's eye view on exactly what happens after the Watchers have decided to act.

Please Review if you have the chance so i know if i need to change things or do a better job in the future. **thanks** to all my readers and reviewers and alert people and I've got a break from school this week so I'll see about getting the next chapter up by or on Sunday. (sorry for any typos in this chapter, i looked it over but i'm rushing this just a little)


	6. Leah and Death or Seattle

I don't have a theme for this part. It's a first but it had to happen eventually. It rings true for it to happen now. This part of the story was never meant to be cute and catchy. It was never meant to be summed up or packaged and tied with ribbon.

Death should never look so sweet.

The Watchers dress it up with that simple word "action". The pack tucks it away into the grave marked "Cold Ones", never to thought of, never to regret, but when it comes down to it it's all the same.

It's death. Death for the sake of balance and home, and hell, for queen and country too; death for the poor sucker who stood between a 'hero' and any of the above, but death none the less.

You have to understand that, because no matter how many jokes I crack to make the telling bearable, the fact that what came from this is death is one of the only things in this whole epic mash-up of fate, dumb luck, and God's sense of humor that I truly understand.

* * *

You know from Jamie that the Watchers made the decision to act shortly after three in the morning on Wednesday. They, graciously, waited until six to inform the Elders and Sam of their decision. Sam told us over breakfast before school, at Emily's house.

Nearly two days before, on Monday, Jack and Izzy had come and spoken to the pack concerning the possibility of the pack helping them to get rid of the vampires that were making a fuss in Seattle.

We'd met at the beach, approaching from different sides they and the elders had when the alliance had been formed. Quick to observe formality first, the young Stevens boy had delivered his request in the scripted and, admittedly, sometimes beautiful way of the Watchers.

"I, Jack Stevens, a Watcher of the American West and the head liaison in our dealings with you, come before you humbly to ask your aid. A threat to our collective safety and interests has arisen in Seattle and we offer you the chance to aide us and our other allies in the region to cut it down in its infancy."

"What threat? And by allies do you mean the cold ones in Forks?" Sam had asked.

"The Murders and disappearances in Seattle," Izzy replied, "we have reason to believe that a vampire named Victoria is behind them. We think that she's turning people, and since she has a vendetta against me at the moment, we think that she and the newborns that she's creating will be on their way here. Not only that, if the Volturi catches wind of her actions, they'll send their guard to this region and no one wants that. And yes, our Allies are the Cullens, but I'm not asking you to be friends with them. I'm asking you to use them. They could offer you training and cover. They could lead the newborns to places where you could fight unseen in the city."

"The lady has a point," I'd drawled from the back of the pack.

Sam had glanced back in warning but nodded.

They'd stood there, hashing out the details of our potential involvement, for over an hour before a phone call to the Elders and a reluctant handshake won a place for the Pack in the fray.

They'd decided that the majority of the pack and the Cullen coven would be going to Seattle on Saturday and that we should meet on Thursday and Friday to get organized and to do some training.

I was nearly finished patrolling the area around La Push with Jacob and Seth before school when Sam got the call from the Watchers. The plans had been approved. The pack was going to use one set of leeches to take down another and all in the name and at the request of our mysterious allies.

The three of us ran faster after that, finishing patrol quickly so that we could phase and think about it in the silence and imagined privacy of our minds, but still I heard their reactions.

"_Yes! More action,_" Seth thought, excited and seeing victories for battles that hadn't happened yet in his mind's eye.

"_How do we know that this isn't a trap? The leeches lie to everyone else easy enough…"_ Jacob grumbled, more petulant than truly suspicious.

My own thoughts on the matter were complicated. We were never meant to fight beside them. Our very natures repelled one another, from scent to soul. I was more than a little pessimistic about our ability to overcome that.

On the other hand, it made sense. The leeches terrorizing Seattle were a shared problem and besides, when else were the leeches going to be offering tutoring sessions about how to wipe them out?

I phased and dressed behind some trees before following Seth and Jacob to his car and riding to the reservation's high school, where I was a senior.

I hated school.

It was that time of year between application deadlines for college and the arrival of acceptance or rejection letters, and the uncertainty of the future was making at least a quarter of the school's student population perpetually tense, myself included.

I'd applied to a couple of colleges in the state before phasing but, because I lacked control, my future was doubly uncertain. Even if I were accepted, I couldn't go if there was even half of a chance that I would lose control and ruin not only my life, but that of the tribe and the any one standing too close when it happened.

If I didn't get in, my prospects were bleak. My control would limit the jobs that I could take, and since phasing had ostensibly rendered me sterile, I couldn't even look forward to being a wife and mother.

My bobble headed, overly hopeful, peers whispered dreams and plans to each other in the hallways and I just sat back and tried to even out my karma by hoping that none of them would have reason to doubt that those dreams would come true.

Back to the story, Jacob dropped Seth and me off in front of the school before driving off to park. I mussed Seth's hair before walking to class.

I had Algebra III for first period, the easy class for seniors who didn't feel like actually learning during their final year of high school math. The teacher, Ms. Peters, was nice enough to acknowledge that gave out busy work while using our class to grade papers.

I spent the hour getting lost in the uncomplicated world of numbers and formulas, before being cast into the pit that was 12th grade literature with the misogynist male teacher who didn't have any clue about the amount of danger that his job was really exposing him to.

There was a test coming up on _Taming of the Shrew_ and the man nearly lost his life, because he felt the need to explain that every "uppity" young woman should be treated as Kate had. I walked out rather than spend the next month getting the taste of self-righteous, woman-hating, macho jerk out of my mouth. I spent the rest of class leaning against the wall opposite the doors into the cafeteria and thinking about the approaching fight in Seattle.

What was the older Stevens boy going to be able to do? I pictured him as I'd first seen him, jaded looking and sad as he took a back seat, a supporting role, in his family's dealings. Was there some hidden power in him that would let him fight beside them?

The bell for lunch and the opening of the cafeteria doors interrupted my thoughts. I walked inside and ate alone in the back of the cafeteria. Near the end of lunch, Seth made his way over and told me a funny story about class that morning. I smiled briefly, wondering how anyone so closely related to me, who'd seen so much of my mind, could still care to try and make me smile; loving him all the more for it.

After lunch there were more classes, a culture course about our traditions, a science, and a history course, then I went home. I studied. I helped cook dinner. I slept. I dreamt other people's dreams.

Wash, rinse and repeat until the next evening, when the pack was making its way to the pre-approved clearing to be trained in how to deal with vampires that were new and…shinier.

There were so many of them that the smell burned at my nose before we ever broke the tree line. The pack mind was distracting and busy with thoughts about every aspect of what we were about to do, go against nature and fight alongside the monsters that we'd been warned against in bedtime stories and culture classes from primary school forward.

_Cold ones_, someone hissed in response to my thought, _blood drinking murderers. Why should our allies ask us to sink so far?_

_But it's not sinking. We have to protect our home. _

_Seattle is not our home. _

_Shouldn't their land seem more menacing? It's too peaceful. _

_Seductive, evil, tempting, deceptive like them… _

_This isn't their land, stupid, that's why we're meeting here. _

Their thoughts argued on, until Sam stopped at the edge of the clearing.

Jack and Izzy were standing side by side, facing opposite directions with Jack facing us and Izzy facing the Cullen's. Sam approached them while the bronze haired Cullen boy approached from the other side. The pack moved closer to the tree line, with the intention of reminding the Cullens that they were outnumbered. When the bronze haired Cullen reached Izzy, he immediately attempted to take her hand as if to lead her away from every other being in the clearing.

"Bella, this is dangerous. Why don't you go over there and watch, no one here needs a chaperone to make us play nicely," he said, so patronizingly that I wanted to claw the fake smile off of his condescending face.

"Edward, my name is Izzy and I'll show you dangerous if you even think about trying to start this with me tonight. It's too late for it, and in more ways than one, so if you insist on being annoying I will insist on the pack destroying you as a gesture of loyalty and a favor to the world, alliance be damned," Izzy hissed in reply.

Edward looked a little put out by this but nearly tried again anyway. His life was saved when a short Cullen with shorter hair called out, "If you say it we won't avenge you and we'll toss your CDs and sheet music onto the fire when they burn you."

He glowered at her ineffectually for a moment before being distracted by Jack's description of his mind reading, or rather mind "hearing" abilities.

"He wants us to get started and he asked why this is necessary when they typically fight based on instinct," Edward said dully.

A scar marked vampire made his way toward the group in the center of the clearing, turned his back to us and answered.

"This is necessary because we hope to finish this easily and without fatalities," he said, then he launched into an explanation of the various strengths and weaknesses of new-born vampires. He sent Izzy and Jack to the side of the clearing so he'd have some room, then he used his huge hulk of a brother to demonstrate, attacking from the sides and moving quickly as he'd told us to.

It seemed easy enough to me, and I wondered why they even needed help until the short female cold one took a turn. I didn't learn their names until later but for simplicities sake, I'll use them now.

Jasper and Alice's display of speed and prowess in their mock fight both scared and impressed me vastly. They moved as gracefully as though they were dancing and so quickly as to be nearly invisible to human eyes. They were terrifying and stunning and I watched, eyes wide and with the pack mind in a state of fear and awe that held it silent for the first time in what felt like years. Eventually, Alice ended it, perching on her mates back kissing his neck lightly before hopping off and returning to the line.

After that, the formality of the encounter diminished. Sam asked us all to come out and practice and to observe. Several members of the pack paired with each other and had a grand time rolling around and taking hits at each other as they tried to practice what they'd heard and seen.

While they practiced, I watched as the cold ones tested Jack and Izzy's defenses. They stood side by side holding hands and concentrating as Alice ran towards and away from them. I didn't realize it until she jumped and seemed to land on, and slide down the air above them that they had some sort of shield. I ran at them myself, on impulse, only to find that I was pushed off to the side just as I'd nearly injured one or the both of them.

The bitter Cullen boy, Edward, conveyed my confusion. Since when did they have a shield?

Jack explained that it was a part of being a Watcher, not going into detail about it being their Joint Match power, the manifestation of a power that came from their completion.

They experimented with the shield, even managing to use it offensively, to push the Cullens and I back even as we'd raced towards them from different sides.

It was late when we parted ways, nearly four in the morning, and by the time the pack made it back to La Push it was time to get up and patrol before school.

I don't know how any of us managed it, but we went about our day as normally as possible before returning to the clearing the next night, many of us after having had only a couple of hours of sleep.

The second meeting was less hands on as our respective leaders and liaisons stood deciding who would ride with whom and what the plan for Saturday was going to be. Even the practical aspects like figuring out rides and hotel reservations had to be discussed in detail, but by the end of the night we were ready to make our way to Seattle and to hand death to the cold one called Victoria and the newborn monsters that she'd created.

* * *

Wait a second please.

Jamie, I'll finish when I finish, I don't care that you're tired of waiting. … Yes I know that it's usually your turn by now, but this part takes a while so you can sit down and wait or else. … Or else I'm going to call your mother and tell her that you're interrupting a lady, that's what. … Now that wasn't so hard was it?

Sorry about that, men are such babies sometimes. Let's continue.

* * *

The next afternoon found us riding in a chain of about five or six vehicles on the way to Seattle. I was riding with Jacob, Seth, and Embry.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Embry crowed, for the tenth time in as many minutes, this time continuing, "They're going to lead those mosquitoes right to us!"

"Maybe not to you," I pointed out, "Sam did say that they're going to pick one of us to help keep the normal humans out of the area. You might get picked and not get to fight."

"Don't even say that! That would suck!" he replied maturely.

"This isn't a game. We're not talking about something fun here. One of us could die tonight," I said, annoyed by his attitude.

"Do you have to suck the fun out of everything?"

"She's right, lay off her," Seth defended, leaning forward from his place next to me in the back seat and shoving Embry.

They continued to talk about it but I just stared out of the window. Something about our planned actions didn't feel right.

During the planning the night before, we'd all been reminded about the specifics of killing vampires. We'd have to tear them apart and burn the pieces before they could reassemble themselves, just as we had with the cold one who'd been planning on eating Izzy. Well, just as they had. I'd done more watching than tearing or burning, though not for lack of trying.

Regardless of how foul or evil it was, the cold one had looked human. The eyes had helped, no human had those strange burnt orange eyes, but the other features, hands, legs, bones, had only served to remind me that it had been human once.

That had been an older vampire.

The ones that we were going to fight today had been human as recently as a month before.

I couldn't feel guilty.

All the things that made a person who they were would have been destroyed by the process, but still. It gave me pause.

When we arrived in Seattle, we immediately went to the hotel where the Stevens had used their connections to get us enough rooms. We gathered in one of the larger ones, the pack, Izzy and Jack and five of the Cullens (the doctor and his wife had stayed at home).

Eventually we were joined by Jamie. There were some rather nausea inducing displays of affection and then we got down to work.

"Alright," Jack said, conspiratorially, "This is the set of old warehouses where you'll be able to fight unseen. Emmet, Rosalie, and Edward will be using some of Izzy's things to lure them with her scent."

"Most of you will be set up there," Izzy continued, "but one of you will be walking around with Jamie, keeping people away and keeping a lookout for Victoria or any of her new friends. Leah, would you mind?"

"Why me?"

"Because whether you're the 'woman scorned' or the 'assassin', you're fierce enough that you could likely fight alone if you had to. Jamie, though amazing and wonderful in his own right, is physically incapable of doing much more than distracting any vampire that you might meet," she said practically, hugging Jamie to soften the reminder of his 'supporting' role.

"Well, if you put it that way," I sighed. _Great_, I thought, _an evening with the smart mouthed eye drop fetcher._

Edward snorted. I flipped him the bird when no one was looking, and then recalled one of the dreams that I'd gotten from Jacob through the pack mind.

The mixed horror and disgust on his face was more worth it than you can ever know.

* * *

It was evening when we finally set out, using clues from Izzy's and Alice's visions to place ourselves to the best advantage in and around the warehouses. Jack and Alice, Jasper and Izzy, and Jamie and I started patrolling in a wide circle around the area. The odd pairings had been planned, as a way to spread the potential for a strong attack rather than concentrate it in pairs.

We walked in silence for a while.

I watched him out of the corners of my eyes as we walked. He looked oddly at home. The warehouses were of the dingy, gray, forgotten sort. They were just as jaded looking as he was.

"Why do you always seem to be staring at me?" his voice wasn't mocking, as it might have been, just vaguely frustrated and tired.

"Why are you always looking back?" I asked lightly.

"Because you're beautiful," he said, as if it were a perfectly normal thing to tell someone that you'd never had a civil conversation with.

I stammered inarticulately for a moment before turning to respond to him, only catch a familiar, horrible scent.

"Move it, Stevens!" I yelled. He moved out from in front of me and threw off the back pack with my spare clothes before phasing and bounding towards the newborn, a blond, sixteen year-old dressed in rags.

For a while, I forgot the mission in the thrill of the fight. I attacked as we'd been taught, and when I realized that it was working, I got cocky played with the cold one for a bit. It was more fun than anything I'd done in a while; the poor thing looked so frustrated. I didn't pay enough attention.

Knowing that, you understand that it was a complete surprise to me when Jamie's voice pierced my adrenaline haze.

"Stop toying around, you're teaching her!"

And man had she learned well. The newborn got in a lucky shot by attacking from the side. She'd hit my side, nearly breaking a couple of ribs and startling me with pain. Then, before I could recover, I felt her arms around my neck.

I barely had time to process that before I heard Jamie yell, "no!" and then a scream of mortal terror pierced the air. The ground itself shook, dislodging the newborn and giving me the chance to do what I should have in the first place. I chased her into one of the warehouses, and made use of my claws.

Presumably after hearing the noise cease, Jamie peered into the warehouse and, seeing the rather gruesome pile of remains, pulled lighter fluid and a box of matches out of his bag to finish the job.

While he saw to that, I went outside phased back and put on my spare clothes before walking over to him and politely inquiring as to what had happened.

"What the hell?"

"A girl that I know from Geometry class in high school was apparently taking a long walk and she came up while you were fighting," he explained, staring into the flames, pensively. I avoided the sight of the burning body.

"And the earthquake?"

"Was a stroke of luck," he said, in a tone that failed to convince itself, never mind him or me.

Then I realized. I'd been seen.

"Wait, what are we going to do? She saw!" I said wondering why Jamie was so calm.

"Who'd believe her?" he stated simply. "She saw me too, but she won't say anything for fear of being thought crazy, and if she does, I'll just ask what she's on. We should get find the others."

We did and the smoke rising towards the sky from the other buildings signaled the success of a few more from out group. We found everyone in one of the larger warehouses, pilling up pieces from other successful fights. I nearly threw up. there were so many hands, and feet, and fingers; so many closed eyes, and on top of the pile was the broken body of the one who'd killed them, who'd turned them.

She looked like a strange mockery of perfection in puzzle form.

I turned my eyes away as jack doused the pile in lighter fluid. I tried not to think about the people that they had been as Izzy stepped forward and struck a match.

I must have looked like hell, because this time, when my eyes fell upon Jamie, who'd just happened to be standing next to me when I'd looked away, he just put a hand on my shoulder in comfort. His eyes, heavy with some emotion so deep and heavy that I wondered how he could still be standing, didn't move from the fire until Jack and Izzy pulled him off in the direction of the car.

* * *

Done. Now I'll go track down Jamie, because, finally, it's his turn again.

* * *

Hey guys, I know it's nearly a week late and you lot have every reason to be annoyed, but at least it's a long one right?

So, Victoria is no more and Jamie and Leah have finally stopped bickering for no reason…for the moment.

I'll make this note quick. Thank you for reading and reviewing and don't forget that the top reviewers will be rewarded in the outtakes chapter (like I did in Waking Up).

Da future: Jamie's point of view of the rest of the weekend, including visions, and suspicions about a great many things.

No promises about when, but I'll do my best to get it up soon.

(ps. I apologize if I did a bad editing job, it's long and I wanted to post it sooner rather than later.)


	7. Jamie and Realizations or Aftermath

I don't have a lot to add right now, so I'll just continue where she left off, if you don't mind. You don't right? Cause if you do there are other places we could start, I mean we wouldn't even be sitting here if you hadn't asked, so it would be the least that I could do. … Are you sure? Ok, let's go.

* * *

There are some things that I will always remember from that night of action in Seattle.

Death and fire.

Death, fire, and the movement of the earth as it rose to help, or as I thought then, to compensate for my uselessness.

I remember staring into the fire as it burned the remains of the young woman who'd done nothing more than show up and the wrong place one night. It was such a strange juxtaposition. The innocence of a victim, set against the guilt of the predator, the fragility of her prone and broken form set against the wildness with which she'd fought; it was too much. I stared at the flames and thought of Alexandra, until Leah came in with her worries.

I'd eased her worries as best as I could and then she'd asked about the earthquake.

Immediately my mind had gone back to that moment.

The newborn had had its arms around Leah's immense, lupine, neck and was preparing to go in for the kill. The sound of footsteps had been getting closer. She was in danger if discovery and death and suddenly, excruciating pain had shot through my head and I'd felt something that I hadn't felt in years. The world itself had seemed to hum for an instant and I'd felt the vibrations in the deepest part of me, but where before I'd only heard it, at that moment I'd felt it along with a near dizzying sense of power.

It was too much. Leah was going to die and then me, and The Girl From Geometry Class, would likely be eaten by the newborn, and it hurt, it hurt so badly. The pain was physical and emotional and….

"No," I cried, and the ground shook briefly and violently, the vibrations of the world becoming a fierce hum and then sinking to the edges of my awareness.

I'd watched, numb and barely seeing as Leah had chased the newborn into a warehouse and listened with vague horror as she'd torn her apart. Then I'd gathered my wits about me and walked into the warehouse.

I wasn't ready to think about what all of that meant so, when Leah asked about the earthquake I told her the only thing that I really could. It had been a stroke of luck, and if to say so was a lie of omission for not admitting my possible part in that stroke; well you'll just have to forgive me.

As you know, after that we walked around looking for the others and found them preparing to burn the remains of Victoria and her newborns.

Once more I stared into the flames, my mind and heart focused on Alex. _You are my Match, my love, my only. _I sent the thoughts towards the flames which reminded me, so much, of her. _How could there be another whose soul fits with mine? _

_There couldn't,_ I decided. It must have been a stroke of luck, and I'd just have to meditate later to prove it.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Leah look away from the fire, towards me.

Of its own accord, my hand rose and settled on her shoulder in comfort, and it stayed there until Jack and Izzy pulled me away and sent me walking back towards my car.

I followed them back to the hotel, having agreed to play chaperone so that they could share a room for the night, before heading back the next afternoon.

The two of them were staying the longest, the pack and the Cullens both planned to leave earlier that that day.

When we got to their room, I dropped my stuff on the floor beside the bed that Jack and I would share for the night and the three of us took turns washing off the smoke and sweat.

After Jack immerged from the shower, dressed in his pajamas and a little miffed about having to go last, we all piled onto my and Jack's bed and prepared to get caught up.

The three of us sat in a triangle with our legs crossed and after a moment I started the conversation.

"So, Izzy-bell, any new visions to report?" I asked, reaching over and mussing her hair.

"Stop that! Yes, actually. I saw her again today, while I was napping on the way here, the girl standing amongst the flames. I never see her whole face, but this time I saw her mouth. She was shocked and scared, but Jamie I don't think that she was in pain, the heat from the fire didn't seem to be touching her either. No sweat," she replied amazed.

I thought about it briefly, feeling that mixture of grief and affection that thoughts of Alex tended to bring to the surface.

"Maybe," I suggested, "you're seeing someone's Match power manifest for the first time. You know it's happened before."

"What's happened before?" Jack asked, momentarily confused, " being surprised by your power?"

"No…Well yes, people have been surprised before, but that's not what he means. He's saying that someone has had a fire related match power before," Izzy clarified.

"Who?" he asked, curious.

"Look," I invited, and he turned his all too knowing eyes on mine, and upon seeing the answer to his question, turned away. He gripped my shoulder in support and then gave Izzy a slight hug, before continuing the conversation.

"So, there's nothing to be done about it then," he pointed out, "she'll call out in panic, he'll hear her and the proper questions will be asked."

"Wrong," I relied, " Izzy, you were focusing on the situation within the watchers, and mom's doubts before you drifted off and had those visions right?"

"Yes, but we aren't even really sure that my power works like that."

"But there's still a chance that she could be related to whatever the Watchers are hiding. Izzy…"

"Alright, I'll keep looking. First though, how are you doing?" she asked.

"I plan to live. What about you two? Still inseparable?"

"Utterly so," the two said at the same time.

"And your friends?"

"Ben and Angela are doing well, though everyone is getting antsy waiting for acceptance letters to get here," Jack answered," and for your next question, Mom and Dad are alright, a bit stressed with all the Watcher stuff happening, but they've been meditating more, so they'll be fine."

"Charlie is actually pretty happy. I think that he and Sue Clearwater are dating, or getting close to it," Izzy added.

We talked for a while longer before deciding that it was time for bed, and I went to the vending machines down the hall so that they could say goodnight without my presence making things awkward.

When I got back, Jack was sitting on the floor next to Izzy's bed and stroking her hair. She was asleep. I left him to it, climbing into bed and drifting off the moment my head hit the pillow.

* * *

I woke up early the next morning, out of habit, and immediately noticed that Jack had managed to crawl into bed during the night. I smiled down at him, well, at the tuft of blond hair that was visible over the blankets. I looked over at the other bed, hoping to see that Izzy was sleeping equally well.

She wasn't.

Izzy was thrashing about in her sleep, murmuring something that I couldn't quite hear. I slipped out of bed and approached her cautiously, hoping that she wouldn't wake up and kill me on impulse.

Just as I got close enough to attempt to soothe her, I heard what she'd been repeating.

"No…can't…dead…no!"

I shook her. No little sister of mine, blood or otherwise, was going to be made to watch someone die. But I couldn't even protect her from sleep, it seemed, her distress filtered through her bond with Jack, waking him up.

Seeing what was going on, he used the bond to call to her, essentially making her wake herself up.

Her eyes flashed open, and she yelled out, "Alexandra!"

The world stopped for a moment, and I couldn't breathe.

"What?" Jack asked, coming out of the light meditational state that he'd used to help wake her up and nearly teleporting to her side. He wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Nothing, I'm sorry, I was dreaming about the girl in the flames and I was so scared…she's my big sister. I never really met her but I know her a little through her online journals…I just wanted someone who'd understand and because I'm still learning about her, she doesn't feel gone to me. I didn't mean to upset you Jamie," she explained.

"It's ok," I murmured in response. I mussed her hair and she smiled a little.

"I wish," I added after a moment, " that I could help you more, introduce her to you. We'll have to talk more often, you and me, when you're not too busy with Nimble."

"What about today?" Jack asked. "I could go explore Seattle a bit and you two could stay here and hang out."

"Jack, you don't have to leave," I replied, not wanting him to feel like I'd chosen Izzy over him.

"It'll be fun, and we spend too much time together as it is. If either of you miss me I'm a call away, phone or otherwise," Jack reassured.

An hour of taking turns using the bathroom to get dressed and ready for the day later and Jack was out the door, leaving Izzy and I to talk and hang out. We sat side by side with our backs to the headboard and my arm around her shoulder.

"So, I guess that I should be honored. A private audience with her majesty is no small thing," I joked, hoping to lighten the oppressively serious mood that we'd stumbled into.

"No small thing indeed, for most, but you caught the eye of an empress once, so I can't imagine that you're any stranger to royalty," she replied.

"She was, wasn't she? Not just in looks, either; she knocked me down a peg within minutes of our first meeting."

I smiled at the thought and Izzy, seeing her chance, started in with what she knew of the story.

"It was around finals, and you were reaching for the same volume in the library."

I squeezed her shoulder and continued the story, "it was an act of fate, I swear. She-"

We spent a peaceful, warm afternoon remembering Alexandra.

I told her all about her, her temper, her intelligence, her strength. As constant and unpredictable as fire, and just as warm, as beautiful; I showed her as much as I could of the sister that she would have had and in doing that I finally let myself remember her as more than the love that I'd lost and the empty space by my side.

In return, she told me stories from her childhood mixed in with anecdotes from her guessing game with Jack, and whispered stories from a life that we couldn't hope to hold. She wrote a future for us, me and Alexandra and her and Jack. She built it on the air like a castle made of sand and sunlight, to be washed away by the evening tide and I… I couldn't stop thinking that maybe there was someone out there who could complete the vision, a second Match…

I didn't want to think about it but, well, you know how it goes when you try not to think of something.

Izzy-bell's voice drew me back when I wandered too far though, so the afternoon passed in a wonderful haze of peace and love and support.

When Jack came back, he found us laughing, and he leaned against the doorway, letting me steal one last hug before I shooed her off to greet him.

"My lord, my love, it's been years!" she cried, embracing him overdramatically.

"And who would I be to argue with a noblewoman of your stature," he laughed.

They treated me to a few more moments of their time before piling into the truck that turned down a position as the batmobile and heading back down the road towards Forks.

I left the hotel moments after them and I drove around Seattle for a while before parking and walking into a church, on impulse. The services had ended for the day and it was calm and quiet. Light filtered in, purple, and red, and gold through the stained glass windows. I walked to the front and lit a candle for Alex.

I sat on the floor between two rows of pews, hidden from all eyes, and for the first time in years I closed my eyes and let my awareness drift outward. The previously too soft prayers of the others knelt in the church washed over me like music. The very walls seemed to hum, as did the floor beneath me, but I barely noticed. Above all of those things, I felt the absence. That feeling of something gone, but not lost, was real and I was feeling it again.

The feeling of my tears welling and spilling over made me lose focus. I wept, softly, in a mix of joy and terrible pain. I had the second chance that I hadn't had time to want yet. I had the opportunity to complete my broken soul and to be of use to my family again.

I drifted like a ghost towards the candles lit for the lost, for those mourned, and knelt to the floor. I wished so badly that I could be in Tucson, and kneel before her grave, but I settled for the candle that I'd lit for her. I thought about the dreams that Izzy had spoken of earlier and the memories we'd shared, and I struggled with the idea that I might someday learn to love another.

* * *

The next part of this story is best told by the one who started all of this telling; not you, but the one that you asked all those weeks ago. Just let me get her on the phone, and we'll continue in a moment, okay?

* * *

Hey guys, I'll keep it short because I'm trying to post this before class, but thank you all for reading and reviewing. Please review, it makes me antsy when you lot are too quiet.

Next up: Izzy comes in to fill us in on some things!

Finals have descended upon my little college, so I'll get it written and posted as soon as I can but be patient with me.


	8. Izzy Visits or Calls

They don't have to tell you anything. I'd imagine that this line has less of an effect over the phone, but it is still true. They don't have to tell you anything, and neither do I, but you asked them, and they ask me, and well…we've already been over why that's important.

As you know, Jamie called me today to explain what was going on at home after the action in Seattle, but for the sake of good story telling I find it necessary to back up just a little.

You, will likely remember that on Sunday morning I woke up from a nightmare and screamed Alex's name, presumably out of desire for protection and understanding. That's what you know from Jamie, because that's what he knew at the time.

It's not true.

Now don't get all fussy on him, he didn't lie to you. He just repeated what I said.

Don't get short with me either, because I had my reasons, and you'll see them soon enough.

* * *

The fire was everywhere and she was screaming. The dark haired girl was standing with her back towards me; and just as I resigned myself to another night of fearing for her life, and wondering if I'd ever get some clue as to when this was going to happen, she turned around.

Her head was pointed down and her hair obscured a large portion of her face as she stared at her hands in shock and horror. Then she looked up, turning her head wildly as she looked at the flames. Her hair flew with the motion of her head and for the first time I saw what should have been so obvious to me from the start.

It was the sister that I'd only ever seen in pictures, Jamie's Match, Alexandra Abdima.

_No_, I thought, _it couldn't be Alex_. She was dead and I only saw the future. Right?

And even if I wasn't seeing the future, why was I seeing her at that moment?

I yelled her name as I felt myself being drawn out of my vision. I needed to know more.

I woke up as Jack wrapped his arms around me and Jamie was looking at me, desperate to know what I'd seen and what it'd had to do with Alex.

I couldn't tell him that I'd seen her. I didn't know "when" I'd seen. If Alexandra was alive, then she'd left him and faked her death. If it was the past, then there was no real indication of what it meant.

Jamie loved Alexandra with the kind of love that doesn't die, had loved her so much that her death had nearly killed him, and he had the scars to prove it.

I lied, because I didn't want to add to his pain without absolute understanding of the situation.

My lie won me a day of learning about Alex and laughing with my brother. I have no regrets.

* * *

Jack drove the truck on the way home. He still loved it as much as if not more than he loved me, so he welcomed the opportunity. While he drove, I thought.

I'd dreamt of Alex before. I'd seen the newspaper article in a vision when my Match power had still been new, uninformed, and weak. That vision, which had led me to seek out the article during my waking hours, had done a lot to convince me that Jamie might deserve not to be written off as the vile creature that his first impression had made him appear. It hadn't been the only one of its kind either. I'd dreamt of the things that Edward had left under my floorboards, too (though perhaps I'd only seen myself looking, as I had when I'd woken up).

Clearly, there was a lot to learn about how my power functioned.

Soon after I decided that, Jack spoke up from the driver's seat.

"Lady wise and beautiful, what I ask of you is worth a king's ransom in gold, but colloquial folly bids me offer but a single, thin, round of copper," he said conversationally, glancing over to see if I'd understood what he'd meant.

"Lord verbose and flattering, why can't you just say ' a penny for your thoughts' like any normal person would?" I shot back, smiling slightly.

"Why should any lord seek to be normal? Now lady, if you're going to try and change the subject, do it with some skill."

"You know what I saw this morning," I sighed. Jamie might have been too distracted to notice but Jack knew me too well to accept the story I'd told his brother.

"I suspect. You've been seeing Alex?" he asked carefully, holding back his judgment until he'd gotten the facts.

"Yes, and because I don't know all that much about my power, I don't know what, if anything to do about it," I replied frustrated.

"There's a lot at stake. Mayhap we'd do well to handle this like Watchers," Jack suggested after a moment.

"Lie to each other while ostensibly keeping an eye on things and doing what's best to uphold a balance that we can't even maintain within our own organization?"

"Yes, exactl-," he paused, mid-word, as he realized what I'd said, "Izzy! I meant that we should lay low and keep our eyes open!"

The scandalized tone of his voice made me laugh and when I re-composed myself I kissed him on the cheek in thanks.

"Sounds like a plan, Nimble," I said sighing and leaning against him, "enough of my worrying. How was your day?"

"It was nice. I walked around practicing my Match power; trying to see truths in reflections and pictures."

"Pictures?" I asked, curious.

"It was a thought, I didn't get more than vague intuition from pictures though, nothing anyone couldn't have guessed. I did have some progress with reflections," he replied, "are you ready to deliver our mission report to the Watchers?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. What else needs to be talked about in tonight's conference?" I asked, having forgotten.

"Only just…everything, the Volturi, they'll want to debrief us, and they'll probably ask if you've seen something. Will you come sit with us, or would you rather have me call you?"

I could tell from the tone of his voice that he wanted me to come and sit with them, and I hated to disappoint him, but I wanted some time to myself. I'd been surrounded during all of my waking hours for days, planning, training, studying, and finally acting. I wanted time, and I couldn't have it if I was going to have to sneak out, drive to the Steven's and sneak back in without being caught by my father who, in case you've forgotten, was a cop.

"Call me, please," I replied shortly.

"Then I'll see you for breakfast, tomorrow?" he returned hopefully.

I thought about it for a moment before answering," Can I practice self-defense while you eat?"

"I'll even let you beat me up," he grinned.

"Like you'd have to let me. I hate to have to tell you this, lord, but you are nimble only in name."

We bickered and joked for the rest of the ride, and I dropped him off at his house before heading home.

* * *

Charlie was watching a game when I walked in, but he stood and greeted me with a slight smile.

"How'd the college visit go?" he asked, referencing the lie I'd told him to explain the trip.

"It was a real adventure, that's for sure. Seattle is an interesting city," I replied, "Now get back to that game! I think someone just made a basket."

He laughed slightly, "Bella, this is hockey, people don't make baskets."

Then he went back to the game and I went upstairs.

Before entering my room, I paused and whispered, "If there is anyone waiting for me on the other side of the door leave a note stating your reason for existing in my space without prior consent or the treaties are null and void and I will make Buffy look like …some small wimpy thing. Understood?"

I heard a brief rustling sound that made me roll my eyes and let my forehead hit the door in exasperation.

There was a note waiting on my bed.

_Jack is going to be late tomorrow, but I'll help you practice until he gets there and if you'd like we'll see what we can do about exploring your power after watcher training. There was really no need to threaten me like that. _

_See you soon,_

_Alice_

I planned to thank her, before turning on the cd that Jack and I had first danced to and pulling out a book to allow myself some well deserved time to be just me.

I stood, and danced, and sang, and stopped at will without Jack's loving eyes watching and judging. I did martial arts moves in between spins and silly dance movements, because they felt nice, and I did them too high or with less power than I should have, for the sheer novelty of it.

For two whole hours, I let myself drop everything, all my titles and responsibilities. Then I fell asleep, and I immediately slipped into a vision.

* * *

There was fire again, just like the others, and she was screaming. I was standing further back this time though, and I could see my surroundings. I was in the dance studio, just as I'd been in that first vision of her so long ago.

It was surreal. Once again the moonlight reflected on the glass of the mirrors and made the room stretch for miles. The floor was covered in bits of newspaper, as it had been before.

I was standing in front of one of the mirrors as; I realized with a jolt, I had been the entire time. Reflected within, there she was. She was surrounded by flames and screaming and the glass of the mirror seemed so transparent that I didn't waste time wondering why I'd felt so close to the flames before. Just a few steps closer and the glass would seem none existent.

I turned away and looked around. On the floor was the newspaper article announcing Alex's death, in an alcohol related car accident during spring break that had killed her and her cousin.

I looked up from the article and my eyes fell on another mirror that was showing another vivid scene. I ran over and saw a semi-trailer truck pass by a cute little green car on a busy street at night. It was the most ordinary thing that I'd ever seen in a vision.

I looked away, bored, and let my eyes settle on Alex's face in the reflection with the flames. Then I closed my eyes and when I opened them, I was in my room and awake.

* * *

My phone was vibrating where I'd left it, on my desk and I wiped at my eyes and stretched before walking over and answering it.

"Hello, Milady," Jack murmured, " get your wits at the ready, love. I'm adding you to the conference call in 5 – 4 -3 – 2…."

The next voice I heard was that of Andrew Phillips, the Head of the family of Watchers for eastern North America. He called out the names in semi random order- in matched pairs but not according to rank or location, being informal to save time.

"Wes?"

"Here," a female voice responded.

"And Mac?

"By her side," a male voice responded.

"Jack?"

"Here."

"And Izzy?"

"In spirit."

The roll call continued, some people doing as we had and using our responses to say whether or not they were physically together, and others just saying "here".

Then came the long stream of greetings and hurried small talk, and finally the meeting was called to order.

"In our last meeting," some Watcher with a European sounding accent began, "we decided to act on the threat in Seattle. Let us begin with the report. Jack Stevens and Isabella Swan, how went your action?"

"I went well. There were minimal…," Jack paused, letting me finish the sentence, "injuries and no casualties, aside from the newborns, none of which could be lured out of league with Victoria."

"Good Job, Watchers," chorused around through the group and we thanked them for acknowledgement.

Then the debriefing started. We were asked to tell the story of what happened and then grilled on why we'd done it until there could be no other conclusion but that we'd acted for the safety of the world and in order to maintain the balance. Questions came from all directions in all accents. The Watchers not being so much hierarchal as well organized, everyone had the same rights and responsibilities to ensure out mental well being. Debriefing was part of that.

It took nearly an hour.

Then the Watchers closest to Italy reported on the Volturi, who seemed to have forgotten about us for the time being.

After a while the floor was opened for observations. Bits of information about creatures from faeries to water demons, and even the most treacherous all beings, humans, came in from all seven continents but when I failed to volunteer someone with an Asian accent asked me, specifically if I'd seen something.

"Isabella, surely you've slept in the past days. Have you seen nothing? Remember that this meeting is a light in darkness, and that to cloak yourself in secrecy would be considered an offense to all involved."

"Don't threaten her, Mei," a young woman interrupted, her voice sounded familiar and she had a bit of a New York accent, "there are others here who haven't spoken, like me and my Match for example. You gonna go one on one with me?"

"Of course not, Elizabeth, but…"

"The name is Wes, as in the shortened form of my middle name. What do you have against calling people what they ask you to? I, as a Watcher of Eastern North America, move that we stop badgering one of our own and adjourn so that some of us can get back to… gee what might we be doing?…oh yeah Watching," she snapped.

"Thanks Wes," I said gratefully, "and I second the motion to adjourn. Some of us have school in the couple of hours. Let us raise our voices as one and say 'aye' three times with one voice if that suits everyone."

There was a pause of several counts before another voice broke in.

"Answer her question," a man's voice intoned. And there was a general murmur of agreement.

"I haven't seen anything new; just the same old vision from a different angle. Is my integrity being called into question, or can we vote to adjourn now?" I said firmly, hoping that I sounded just honest enough to make them feel foolish.

There was a pause and then, as though directed, one voice we proclaimed 'aye'.

There was silence, full of the sounds of breathing and the words that we weren't saying.

"Aye."

My phone buzzed lightly as I received a text message.

"Aye."

A voice that I didn't recognize spoke up to end the meeting. " With all in agreement, we adjourn. Check your emails for the date of the next call, and remember our goal. Uphold the balance at all costs, and keep our secrets for in them lie our safety."

Then the call ended and I looked at that text message.

_Sorry about Mei. We'll talk soon. Sleep well, _

_Wes _

I smiled at that before pausing to wonder whether or not I could trust her. My dreams gave no answers.

* * *

Only a couple of hours later, my alarm clock rang and it was time to get up and go. I got dressed and grabbed my stuff before taking my truck to school.

Alice, true to her word, was waiting near where I usually parked.

"Hello Izzy, I see you got my note?"

"Yes, I did, and I would love it if you'd help me with my power after school; if only because I need the nap," I replied, grinning. Then we agreed to human speeds and no contact, and sparred for a while.

It was nice, throwing kicks and punches in the early morning light, and with Alice sparring was like dancing. I still had to focus on my center of gravity, and it was always evident that Alice was toying with me to let me practice rather than actually fighting, but it was fun.

After a while Jack walked up and did some stretches to cool my muscles, before Alice left and the two of us sat down for breakfast.

"Hey, Bella, did you sleep well after the meeting?" he asked as we enjoyed the hot chocolate and doughnuts he'd brought for breakfast.

"Yes, if not as long as I'd have liked. I got a text message from Wes, the girl who defended me. Do we know anything about her?" I asked, jumping right into the subject because we were short on time.

"I know her a bit. Her match is Michael Phillips, and she was with him last time they visited, a few days after Jamie met Alex. The Phillips family are old friends of my family, though I don't know them well. Looking at it now that I know about Watchers, I'll guess that our families have been friends for a very long time. I'm glad that she defended you. It had more weight than her than it would have from me. Defending your match in a meeting is almost always ignored, because it's like one hand avenging the other," he informed.

It hadn't occurred to me before that the Stevens would have more than a working relationship with the other Watcher families.

"Do you know the other families too?"

"Not well, but I've met a few people from each; some only through video chats. You would have been introduced if it hadn't been for all the craziness that surrounded our training."

I looked up, searching Jack's face for the honesty that I knew would be there, before leaning in and kissing him, just because he was beautiful, and constant, and there.

He smiled at me as we moved back from each other. "Can you hang out after training tonight?" he asked.

"Maybe tomorrow, Milord. I've made plans with Alice today. We'll have some time at lunch though, and Ben and Angela won't care if you hold my hand under the table."

"I look forward to it, and to training after school. Now come on, I hear the bell." Jack sounded vaguely disappointed, as he always did when I made efforts to prevent total codependency, but deep down I knew that the moments that I took for myself were also moments given to him.

We'd lived separate lives for years before meeting, and I'd already learned the dangers of making someone into my whole world. This time, I was going to be smart about it. I needed him to be one soul and complete, but I didn't need him in order to be one person.

Classes passed, boringly and restlessly as they do for any high school senior, as did lunch with Ben and Angela, and to our surprise Jessica.

After school I called Jamie to update him on the meeting last night and to check on his well being.

During Watcher training we discussed the meeting.

We were sitting in Joshua Stevens's office, the two of them on the desk, Jack and I on the couch across from it, as always.

"So, Izzy-bell, what did you mean about seeing something from a different angle?" Mrs. Stevens asked.

"I was further back," I started, then I told them about the first vision that I'd had of the dance studio. They didn't know what to make of it either, so they sent Jack and I to meditate for a while before I went to the Cullen's to see Alice.

The two of us sat back to back in his room, hands clasped and eyes closed as we let the halves of our split soul join in the only way that they could.

_Safe place, we want a safe place,_ we whispered in unison in our minds, and our Match Power, the shield that had protected my mind for longer than I knew, expanded and gained strength. Nothing and no one could touch us within that shield, but I feared what would happen if we stepped outside of it.

At the time though, I just reveled in the feeling of love and completion.

After a while we drifted upward in our minds, coming to awareness shifting so that I could lay in his arms.

"Don't go," he whispered to me, "we have time now. It's not all about "action" or alliances. It won't last long. Don't go."

"Jack," I whispered back, "I neither asked for, nor do I need your approval."

"Don't take it that way. I just…worry," he said, frustration making him less poetic than usual.

"I know, now I gotta go. I only have about an hour with Alice including travel time. I'll be careful."

With that, I left, grabbing my bag as I went, only to find a note in my truck from Alice. She'd see me at Charlie's house, so I wouldn't be late making dinner.

She was waiting in my room when I got home.

"Alice, you know you really should stop just appearing in my room," I said smiling. She was looking through my closet when I came in.

"And you really should let me take you shopping. Now get to sleep! Let's see what we can learn about this power of yours," she returned, pulling me further into the room and setting me on the bed. Then she scratched lightly at my scalp, the way that Jack did to relax me into sleep. It worked.

* * *

In my dreams there was darkness, and a whisper that I couldn't quite understand. In the oppressive darkness the whisper brought comfort. It felt warm and helpful, and I felt myself drifting towards it, towards a door, left open just enough for it to slip through, I approached the door slowly and just as I reached it…

* * *

"Izzy, wake up. Charlie's home!"

Alice's voice sounded loud after the near silence of my vision.

"I'll be back, in a minute," I murmured, sleep making my voice rough.

I went downstairs and started dinner then went back up, to talk to Alice while it cooked. I described the vision as best I could. She thought for a moment.

"There's nothing much that I could tell you from today. You slept, and you woke up. Nothing about what I've seen of your future changed while you were asleep. Maybe Carlisle could tell you if you slept normally. We'll have to do this again. I'm sorry," she looked. She seemed genuinely upset that she hadn't been able to help me.

"Don't worry about it. How's Jasper?"

We talked for a few hours, the time divided by my having to finish cooking and have dinner with Charlie. After making plans to go shopping somewhere within 2 states of forks, at my insistence, she danced out of my window and on towards her family.

Then I did some homework and went to bed.

The week passed dull and uneventfully. I went to Watcher training, hung out with Jack, practiced and went to self-defense.

My visions at night switched between the one of Alex, and that of the whisper in the dark. I saw the dance studio too, but I kept my eyes focused on mirror that showed the vision of Alex, seeing no point in watching the benign view of the road. After Alice's attempt to help me understand my power, one of the mirrored archways on the wall where the other images had appeared went dark.

I didn't really want to see what was happening there.

On Saturday morning, I'd woken early to bake some cookies that Charlie could take with him to visit Sue Clearwater.

I was elbow deep in flour and dough when the phone rang. Rinsing off, I walked over and picked up the phone.

" You are Isabella Swan, yes? My master will be with you in a moment," a woman informed me. she sounded nice, and she had a smooth Italian accent.

"Yes, I'm Isabella, Who-?"

The sound of the phone clicking as another phone on the line picked up interrupted me. Then I heard a voice that threatened to chill my very soul.

"Isabella! Izzy, it is wonderful to finally have the chance to speak with you once again!" he said, his voice teeming with so much elation that I nearly smiled even as I felt Jack's concern at the feelings of terror that had leaked across the bond.

I could have slapped myself for not realizing sooner.

"Aro!" I said in a tone similar to his, "This is quite the unexpected treat!"

I… wait Jamie just picked up another phone…what?...oh alright, I'll let her have her turn.

As you've just heard, Leah demands that the story be placed back into her capable hands, and I will acquiesce, because there's one more reason that I don't have to tell you anything. I've found over the years that whatever information you need to know tends to find you, as long you have the courage to ask.

* * *

Another long chapter!!! And just close enough to Christmas that we can call it an early present.

After 10 full pages of story I really don't have much more to say. Thank you all for reading and reviewing, and it would be the be the best present you could give me if you'd review this chapter.

Next Time: Leah returns and the weekend begins for our favorite assassin/woman scorned.


	9. Leah and Misery

God! I thought that those two would never shut up. Seriously, my whining aside, this part has a theme again. Misery loves company.

I know, not very original, but really, that's kind of the takeaway point here. Happy people are all well and good but for those of us who cannot, for reasons beyond conscious control, be among their ranks, let's face it…happy people are annoying.

So maybe the point is that miserable people love the company of other miserable people? … this is getting ridiculous, let's just start.

* * *

I was sitting on the beach that Saturday, avoiding Emily who'd come by earlier to recruit me to help with her and Sam's wedding.

I was helping out of respect for the years that we'd been friends, and out of hope that someday I'd be able to look at her and not feel just a little bit sick, but sometimes I just couldn't. I'd spent the night before trapped in his memories of their happiness.

I'd spent the week before that trying to clear my brain of the burning bodies and glimpses of foreign memories from the weekend before.

If there was ever a time when helping the love of my life marry my best friend would be fine, it wasn't that day. So I watched the waves drift in and out and I wished that the grey sky would make up its mind and rain already, because the anticipation was making me antsy.

A bird flew low over the waves as I stared. It skimmed the surface of the water before rising once more into the air, flirting with the water. I smiled slightly, then wondered if maybe it had been too long since I'd smiled, because it had felt odd.

I was still watching it when I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. I took a deep breath through my nose. The sent was familiar but I still had to look up to see who it was.

Jamie Stevens.

I watched him walk towards me from the vague direction of the road. He looked nearly as tired and sad as I did.

Before I could say anything, he spoke.

"You're staring again."

His voice had traces of amusement in it, but it barely registered on his face.

"And you're still looking back at me," I replied, remembering our last conversation.

"Because you're still beautiful," he shot back, smiling slightly. "Is that feather in your hair for cultural reasons or just because it looks pretty?"

I reached my hand up to see what he'd been talking about and, sure enough, a long white feather was tangled into the hair on the right side of my head. I tugged it and it came out with a sting, presumably taking a couple of strands out with it. I examined it as I replied.

"Neither, I honestly don't know how it got there. Why do you keep saying that?"

"That you're beautiful? Because I have no reason to lie to you. Must be tiring to be told what you already know. I apologize."

"It's fine. I mean thank you. And thanks for the heads up when I was fighting." I flushed a little at the memory of how my overconfidence had nearly killed us, then remembered that I'd been spotted. "That chick bother you any about what she saw?"

"She did mention an odd dream she'd had, but she's utterly convinced that that was all it was."

"Good," I replied.

He moved to sit beside me on the sand and there was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

"So, what's an…Did Izzy call you... an 'assassin' like you doing on the beach today?"

He was staring out at the water as he asked, but even without clear view of his eyes, I could tell that he wasn't very happy. He looked older than I'd noticed before, and that made him resemble his brother less than usual.

"Why should you care?"

It had less bite than I'd intended. I'd been trying to push us back on to familiar ground, but something in me was too tired to bite his head off for existing.

"I likely shouldn't, but I thought I'd ask all the same. You looked pretty focused before you heard me coming. Contemplating your next hit?"

I smiled at the thought.

"Trying not to, actually. What about you, eye drop fetcher? Was the store fresh out?"

He sighed, clearly frustrated.

"You know, that joke's getting tired and so am I. Can't we just talk for once?"

"What's the fun in that?"

My question hung out in the air for a while before another came out, unplanned.

"Really, why are you out here today?"

"Same as you," he said, glancing over to meet my eyes, "avoiding homicide. Who's on your hit list?"

"An old friend and an ex. Yours?"

"A pair of too happy couples and …Fate."

He collapsed back onto the sand and it occurred to me that maybe I should warn him, before he ended up confiding in me anymore than he already had.

"You know that I can't keep secrets, right? The pack mind and all that," I sighed, pulling my knees up and leaning forward onto them. The concept frustrated me and made me feel more tired than I had before.

"You know that I haven't asked you to. I just… I need to talk to someone who isn't my family. You're here. So what say we pull a 'strangers on a train' and take out the people on each other's hit lists?"

His sentence which had started out weighted with half a dozen familiar and uncomfortable emotions, ended in a way that startled a laugh out me. So many of my reactions with him were instinctive that I almost wondered if I'd ever really had control of myself in his presence.

"Ha! Nice try! I know how that movie ended," I shot back.

There was a long moment of quiet and part of me wanted to fill the silence with any number of too personal questions, but I didn't want to deal with those that he might ask in return. I also knew that I'd want to keep what I found to myself, which was likely going to be impossible until I stopped phasing.

I'd just decided that asking what other movies he liked might be harmless enough when his cell phone rang.

"Jamie Stevens," he answered, quickly, not looking at the caller id. "I'm fine…I'll start back in a few minutes, I just wanted a little fresh air."

Then he hung up his phone and turned to me.

"This didn't suck," the words tumbled from my mouth before I could stop them. He responded with a sudden laugh.

"No, it didn't. Surprised?" he asked lightly.

"A little, but I suppose you saw this coming," I replied, then paused before adding, "now go, go suck carrot sticks, Eye Drop Fetcher."

He grinned and picked up a piece of driftwood as he stood before throwing it and looking at me expectantly.

"Speaking of fetching…"

Then he started walking off towards the parking area.

I yelled to him over my shoulder, "you don't kill yours and I'll let mine live too."

"It's a deal," I heard him yell back.

After he left, I stretched out on my back for a moment before standing and walking back towards my house, where Emily would be waiting. Suddenly I felt a little more open to helping her.

* * *

"Leah," Emily said softly as I entered the house, "I'm sorry, I-"

"The blue ones," I interrupted stiffly.

"What?"

"You should go with the blue table cloths. They'll match our mothers' china better, and we always said that they'd be blue anyway. Remember? When we were little," I elaborated, still sounding just a bit stiff and more than a little annoyed, but she understood. I was, in my own way stopping her for apologizing for what wasn't ever her fault.

"Right and I'll save them for you to use when you tie the knot, like we said. But no pink wedding dresses, I don't care that we planned on those too," she grinned at the memory.

"I'll find a pink sash for my bridesmaid dress instead if you'll wear one at mine, someday," I suggested offering my pinky so we could seal the deal in the way that we had for so many years.

"Perfect," she said back, curling her pinky around mine and squeezing lightly, "so your mother did say that I could use her china? Great!"

"So," I sighed, resigned, " What's next?"

"I've got a cake recipe that I was thinking about using…"

We spent the next hours baking and cleaning up from the fight we had with the flour. It was fun, and you wouldn't have known that we weren't the same friends who'd done this a thousand times if I could have found it in me to smile a little wider, and if Sam hadn't stopped a block away when he picked Emily up from my house later, rather than be alone with the two of us at the same time.

I turned the song "my never" by Blue October up as loud as my computer speakers would go, after she left.

I was a woman gifted with the ability to multitask. I could be happy that my best friend was getting the wedding that we'd planned since childhood and nurse a still broken heart at the same time.

When the song went off, my mind drifted back to my encounter with Jamie Stevens. He'd been escaping his family and their obvious and effusive happiness, and …fate? My mind drifted back to my earlier theory that Jamie and I were kindred spirits. I'd thought that perhaps he'd been Jack's partner before Izzy came along. Maybe his story was closer to mine than I'd assumed, had he and Izzy been a thing before she'd met Jack?

It was another very incorrect theory, but you have to remember that Watchers are secretive by nature, so I didn't understand the deep level of the "partnership" between matches. They kept the knowledge that made the Watchers what they were under lock and key, telling allies as little as possible.

I heard my mom and brother come in later, both having spent their Saturday out and about on pack and elders business, but I stayed in my room.

Talking about that movie with Jamie earlier had made me remember how long it had been since I'd seen one. It'd been with Sam, that last night before Emily had come for the visit that had changed everything.

I remembered, laying with my head on his shoulder and pretending to pay attention as I daydreamed about a wedding and a reception with my mother's and aunt's china on soft blue table cloths and wondered if he'd be the one that I shared it with.

Life is a real…well, you remember.

The thought of those dreams reawakened my pain and I sat up in bed, taking the position I'd sat in on the beach.

Words cannot say how much I wanted to be that bird, all careless and free. I wanted it so badly that when I glanced toward the mirror I could have sworn that I saw that bird again.

I did a double take and found myself looking at my own face, and then figured that perhaps I'd do well to get more sleep. I changed into a set of pajamas and slipped under the covers before trying to let myself fall asleep, giving my head a light shake because I felt something poking me.

I was too near sleep then to think about what it was then, so let myself relax. I dreamed of trains that night and flying next to someone.

In the morning, I would assume that that 'someone' had been Sam.

* * *

I had to patrol again the next morning, with Jacob and Seth. Then there was homework, and studying which took up the better part of the day.

Late in the afternoon I felt a sudden urge to see the beach again before being the weekend was done. The pack was going to meet early Monday morning to talk about some new development with our allies.

We all knew already, through the pack mind, but planning the meeting made it ok to pretend that it wasn't important yet.

It had been a rare sunny day, and the world felt more alive than usual as I stepped out of the shadow of the trees and onto the sand.

There were too many people, so I walked further, to the place down the way were I'd sat with Jamie.

I shouldn't have been as stunned as I was to see him there.

"Once, Eye-drop Fetcher, may be excused as a coincidence. Twice inside of a weekend is stalking," I said sharply, noting the way he jumped in surprise with no small amount of satisfaction. "You're in my spot."

"And still you stare," he said as he stood and gestured for me to take my spot back, " have you found what you're looking for yet?"

"Maybe. So did you uphold your end of the deal?" I asked.

"I'm not the assassin," he pointed out, "You shouldn't have worried."

"That just means that you couldn't have done it without getting caught. If you were wondering, my targets survived the night too, though it really was a near thing."

There was something nice about talking to him. There was no reason to bother being anything but the bitter woman scorned that I was with him. I'd never given him call to feel welcome in my presence before our conversation the day before, and I felt no overwhelming need to put on a show so that he'd feel welcome now. He could mask his pain as he wished and I could show mine.

"Good to know. Why'd she call you that anyway? 'The Assassin'?"

"I don't play well with others. You want more of answer than that? You can guess."

"I am not my brother. You are not Izzy. Guessing games are for happy people. Happy people are annoying. Life's a bitch."

Ok, full disclosure, he didn't say that, but what he did say pretty much amounts to it. Jamie stop looking at me like that you know that's what you meant, and forgive me if I can't remember all the flowery words that you and the rest of the pompous white men that you hold dear care to spout at me.

Sorry about the interruption, maybe he'll learn some manners eventually. Or maybe I'll tell his mother.

"Well fine," I said, my temper flaring, as it does occasionally just to remind me that it can, "You don't have to guess. I don't want to talk about it anyway."

"Fine."

"Fine."

There was a pause before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry, that was rude. Everything is so beautiful out here today. Can't we just talk? It didn't kill us yesterday."

To this day I only have one explanation for what happened next. Misery loves company, and the more miserable that company the better.

"Sure. What's your least favorite movie?" I asked on a whim.

"Insert uplifting sports film, except for 'Remember the Titans'," he replied. And the conversation continued.

We dealt for the most part in negatives; leasts and worsts. I learned that he hated the aforementioned films because he'd been a jock and they made him feel lazy and ungrateful, because he'd stopped competing a couple of years before. I learned from the look on his face when I'd asked, that maybe I wasn't the only one who could show pain on the outside.

"So you're an eye drop fetcher because of track?" I asked. I tried to keep my tone light and soft. I didn't want to hurt him, not when he might be in the same situation that I was.

"No, but I will say that the reason I stopped in track is…was related to my EDF status," he said, his eyes met mine and the pain in them was more than tangible. "Don't ask for what you can't keep."

That threw me for a moment before I realized what he meant; secrets. I sighed, this was one more downside to being a shape-shifter.

"Why did you exclude Remember the Titans? I thought it was just another football movie. Nothing special there," I argued, putting some distance between us and the now taboo subject.

"Have you seen it?" he asked, stunned. "Watch it again, and don't think of it as just another sports film."

"If I have time," I conceded. "What's the worst depiction of werewolves you've ever seen?"

"The ones from Buffy were kind of a fail, but I haven't seen tons. I haven't seen a lot of movies lately. Now, is there is an interrogation or can I ask a question now please? Though I would actually like to know you're answer on this one."

"I didn't like the ones on Harry Potter. What's wrong with the Buffy werewolves? Oz was cool!"

Eventually he asked me about my least favorite pairing on an animated show, and the conversation shifted out of my control.

He spent the whole time drawing something in the sand next to him that he wouldn't let me see. Something about how we interacted didn't feel natural but it was real, and when your whole life is built on broken fairytales and things that other people don't believe in…real is a nice change of pace.

Eventually the light started to fade and he had to go.

"I'd love to stay and talk but I have to get back to Seattle before classes tomorrow," he sighed.

"See you around then," I returned, oddly saddened that he was leaving.

After he left, I finally saw what he'd been drawing in the sand.

It was a phone number.

I smiled, really glowingly smiled, for the first time in recent memory.

I told you that misery loves company, or rather that miserable people love the company of other miserable people. even then, while I used that as my reasoning for being drawn to our resident eye drop fetcher, I had to admit that something about that saying didn't make sense.

While we'd talked, I hadn't been miserable.

Well… it's Jamie's turn again. I know you'll miss me, but you want this story told right, and that means letting the people who lived it do the telling.

So, without further ado, I give you the Eye Drop Fetcher.

* * *

Sorry!!! I'm so sorry that this is so late. I blame writers block. I swear to you all that I will finish this story though, so trust that no matter how late chapters are they are on the way.

The break gave me some time to think about this story and I'll get to work on the next chapter within the next couple of days.

Thanks for your patience, and for reading and reviewing this story.

See you soon,

P_M


	10. Jamie and Forward Steps

So, it's me again. Jamie Stevens, the man who was once love's martyr and who, when we last left off, was struggling with the idea that he, I, might be something else someday.

If you've forgotten, I'll remind you that when my story paused last, I was kneeling in a church and grappling with concept that I had a second Match.

If Nimble and Izzy-bell did the job right, they'd have told you that when someone's Match dies it's like ripping apart two sheets of paper that have been glued together, or cutting away part of a puzzle piece. The half of the soul that still lives on earth is altered so dramatically by loss that someone else might fit in the space left behind.

It was a possibility that I'd known of, but not one that I'd ever entertained for myself.

Now that it was happening, it changed everything.

If I'd been a smarter individual back then, I'd have called Izzy up on the way back to my dorms and asked her to keep a look out and tell me if she saw the identity of my new Match. I might have reported the development to my parents, too. I might even have gone back to meditating regularly, or tried to communicate across the beginnings of our bond and then called around to see if someone had heard anything.

That would have been too sensible.

What I did was go about my life making a mental list of all of the people that I'd come into contact with in the weeks before my new Match power had revealed itself, and wonder every time I saw someone if they were it.

On Friday, The Girl from Geometry Class, who had previously been sitting across the room from me and shooting weird glances my way since she'd accidentally walked up during Leah's fight with the newborn, sat next to me again.

"Long time no see," I commented to her.

"Yeah, I know, I just… I had this psycho dream and you were there and a wolf…" she trailed of, looking equal parts confused and embarrassed.

"Was I the grandmother or the hunter?" I asked, grinning, in an effort to underscore the absurdity of what she thought she'd seen.

"I guess it is silly, isn't it. Still it seemed so real," she sighed.

"Some of the best dreams do," I replied, then the professor entered and class started.

After class I went back to my room to grab my stuff and say a quick goodbye to my roommate, Andy, before he barricaded himself into the practice rooms to compose.

He wasn't there but he'd left a note ordering me to play nice with my brother and not to spend the entire weekend brooding.

I left him one in return telling him to take breaks and eat, because he was too young and too new to die and be remembered as a genius martyr for his art.

The drive to Forks was relatively uneventful, and within hours I found myself sitting in my room and eating a late dinner while Jack worried needlessly over Izzy's need for space.

"I just wanted to relax with her now that some of the stress is off. She's been so tense with the threat of Victoria over her head…"

"Hate to break it to you bro, but you gave up your relaxing time when you went for a walk to let Izzy and I bond. Now she just wants an afternoon. You're her boyfriend, not her husband. It shouldn't bother you that she doesn't come home to you every night," I replied with as much patience as I could have while wishing that I had his problems.

"But Jamie, she-"

"Needs room to breathe, and to live the life that she had in place before she made room in it for you. Leave the clingy, possessive bit to the Cullen boy, and let's play some video games," I suggested, before turning to my game station and ignoring him until he joined in. Izzy wasn't the only one that needed a little time, Jack likely did too, but years of exposure to our parents (who had perfected the art of balancing "me" and "us" time before we'd been born) had given him no frame of reference for learning a person's limits.

We played for an hour before he put down his controller and looked at me.

"So, Brother Mine, how was your week? You didn't call."

He looked into my eyes, and before I could answer, he responded to something he saw there.

"What's wrong?" he asked looking a little worried now. I could see it register on his face as he saw it in mine.

"Stop doing that," I scolded, "do I even need to tell you, now?"

He lifted his gaze, picking a point above my head to focus on while he spoke

"Why haven't you? How long have you known that you have a second Match? Jamie, we can't start doing this…This secret keeping stuff. That's the problem we have with the Watchers now and it's dangerous."

He was angry, but he kept his voice down to a cold hiss.

"I know! I just… Can you blame me for being a little freaked out? I love Alexandra. I loved the completeness of us and, damn it, her empty place at my side is all I have left of her. Now some strange person that I might have met like once, is supposed to take her place? It shouldn't be possible." I shouted in response.

He looked at me for a moment, directly into my eyes, before walking over and putting a hand on my shoulder. He seemed completely bewildered, and was still a little irritated.

"You people are crazy; you and Izzy. I will never understand your fear of this," he said, exasperated.

"Well you wouldn't, would you? You, oh lucky son of a… goddess, picked right the first time, and you get to keep her, if you don't screw it up by being clingy," I pointed out. "You've never had to deal with the consequences when things go wrong. And speaking of the esteemed lady Isabella, I'd rather tell her about this myself. You know she thinks of Alex as a sister."

"Fine, she should be stopping by tomorrow. I'm going to bed," he said, removing his hand from my shoulder, and walking out of the room.

For a while after he left, I sat contemplating his side of things. Jack was un-jaded about all of this. He still had every ounce of faith that the system would lead us all to happiness. He'd learned to respect Izzy's fears about being a watcher, but he couldn't conceive of anyone not wanting to be Matched.

He was a sweet, if sometimes stuffy and overbearing, young man, and though part of me hopped that he never understood mine and Izzy's reservations, another more selfish part was extremely thankful that Izzy did. It was just another way in which she completed him.

* * *

The next morning was deceptively calm.

As always, I rose early and looked in on my brother, before checking the rest of the house and going out for my run.

When I got back, I took a shower before heading to the kitchen for breakfast and my Mother fed me the best meal that I'd had since I'd left the week before. Since Jack had plans to meet Izzy that afternoon, I made my way towards the beach, hoping to sort my thoughts about my situation before the time came to tell Izzy and my parents.

As I drove, I found myself thinking about Shakespeare. Though I suppose it's easy enough to forget sometimes, Jack and I were raised with the same passion for pretty words and clever phrasing, the same literature class hidden in bedtime stories. We'd responded differently to them, Jack had been led to his books and I'd fled from them because Shakespeare never quite sounded as good to me alone as it did in my mother's voice, but the fact remained that I did know the stories too.

I wondered about Romeo and Rosaline, wondered if he'd have ever noticed Juliet if Rosaline had loved him and died, instead of just rejecting him.

I wondered why I assumed that a second match meant a new love. Not all matches fall in love, though most do.

I thought about Jack and Izzy and the way that they'd seemed to be a unit, a whole, even before they'd known about the system, much as Alex and I had been, and I wondered what it would be like if this new Match of mine and I fell short of that ideal.

When I arrived at the beach I got out of my jeep and walked down towards the ocean. I saw her.

Leah was sitting just out of reach of the water and she turned when she heard me approaching her.

"You're staring again," I said, finding it funny that our conversations were settling into a pattern.

"And you're still looking back at me," she replied with only a hint of the defiance that had filled the statement when she'd made it the week before.

I won't put you through a detailed rehashing of the conversation. That would be boring and repetitive. I will say that she wasn't the only one who was surprised to note that our time together "didn't suck". I will also say that there was something heartbreaking in the way that she admitted that she couldn't keep secrets, something kind too.

I felt better after talking to her. I liked that we could still take shots at each other.

As you know, Jack called to summon me home, and when I arrived, parking behind Izzy's motorcycle, the deceptive calm of the morning came to a swift and abrupt end.

Izzy was sitting on the front porch with her head in her hands, while Jack sat next to her rubbing her back.

"What's happened?" I asked, rushing over and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Too much to go into twice," she murmured in reply. "Come with me, both of you. The Watchers will have to be alerted, and that means that your parents need to know about this now."

She led us down the main hallway back to my Father's study where he and my mother were waiting. My mother sat on the desk while my father sat in the chair behind it. the three of us, Jack, Izzy and I were piled onto the sofa in front of it with Izzy in the middle.

"So what's this about?" my mother asked anxious.

Izzy took a deep breath before answering.

"The Volturi, specifically Aro called me on the house phone at Charlie's this morning. They want to meet with the heads of the Watchers to discuss the potential for an alliance. Aro claims no specific threat that we might aid them with and seeks only our friendship and the foundations of trust between our organizations. He also requested mine and Jack's presence when they meet with the heads, as it was us who made first contact. He will allow us two weeks to discuss and coordinate then he will call again for the date of our meeting or an explanation as to why said meeting will not occur," she said, the words spilling out of her like a tipped glass, " The Watchers must be told, and whatever needs to be done about the Volturi knowing my phone number needs doing as well, because I'm just a little freaked out by that."

Immediately my father stood and walked over to the phone, where a nearby contact sheet listed the numbers of and languages spoken by the heads and the roll callers in each continent.

"Is there anything else that they should all know?" my mother asked, looking straight at me.

I'd wanted to take Izzy aside and explain on my own terms, because out of my control or not, the situation felt like I was betraying Alex. I'd lost the chance to do it right when I'd spent the week dazed and horrified by the prospect.

"I have, it seems, found a second Match. I don't know who he or she is but I can feel the beginnings of the bond when I meditate and…I think that I may have started a small earthquake last week," I said. It felt strange to admit it out loud. Wrong, I thought at the time.

I heard my Mother gasp slightly at that, and my Father looked up from the contact sheet. Izzy's face was nearly unreadable but she didn't seem upset. She just glanced up into Jack's eyes for a moment, before looking down at her hands where they rested on her lap.

Jack spoke for them, saying, " Can we leave you two to make the calls? Izzy has something else to share but is hesitant to do so with the group because of recent issues. Besides, I think a little Match and big brother time would do her some good."

"Alright," my mother started letting my father finish with, "take care of her, you two."

We walked to Jack's room and closed the door.

I sat down on the couch and the two of them settled on his bed, sitting next to each other with Izzy's head on Jack's shoulder as he held her loosely.

"What have you seen?" I asked, warily. She looked guilty.

"The girl surrounded by flames was Alex, and I wasn't seeing her the way that I thought I'd been. Her vision was playing in one of the mirrors in a dance studio that mom used to take me to in Phoenix. The last time I had a vision set there it led me to the article about the accident," she answered. She stopped to take a deep breath before continuing, "There were other visions in other archways in the mirrors; a street with cars on it and an eerie dark one that I haven't looked into. I also had this weird vision about a door that was opened just a crack. The rest of the room was dark but I heard whispering. It might be nothing, but it bears mentioning."

Part of me wanted to be angry with her, but I couldn't bring myself to yell at her. Izzy had been genuinely freaked out by the Volturi calling her at home, and she looked almost small as she sat there holding herself together. There were good reasons for holding onto the information and she'd come clean about it without needing to be coerced.

There was a long silence before Jack spoke.

"We cannot keep doing this. Hiding things and lying were never meant to be standard policies for the Watchers," he said tiredly. He wasn't mad, just overwhelmed.

"I know," Izzy replied, " I just, didn't want to hurt anyone by interpreting it wrong."

"I know but, let's promise now. No more deception, not even by omission. The future of the Watchers could depend on it."

A round of "I promise"s later had us sitting quietly wondering what to do. I made a suggestion.

"So what do we think is up with your visions, Izzy?" I asked.

"I think that I might be seeing the past. There's no telling with the street or the dark space or the whispers, but Alex is definitely in the past," she replied, " The fact that the vision of her, the street, and the darkness, are all stemming from the same vision could mean that they all are, or if they aren't all in the past, I think it means that they're related."

"You know what this means right?" Jack asked her with a small smile.

"That my power is less straight forward than I thought, because clearly I don't just see the future anymore. And that Jamie's new match had better be precognitive, because if I sleep any more than I do now, Charlie is going to think that I'm depressed again and come to kill you?" she replied in a tone so dry that the Sahara was moved to envy.

"She's not the only one whose power will be put into overdrive. I'm willing to bet that the Watchers are going to start making their way here in preparation for the meeting with the Volturi. If you ask the right questions, we could crack the lid off of this mystery," I pointed out to Jack.

"We should see if there are any other Watchers that we can trust, too, anyone with similar doubts as to the motivations of the main group for moving against the Volturi. If we can get them here sooner, we'll have more eyes and more powers to use for information gathering," Izzy added.

"So, that's it for now as far as Watchers go, right? Let all those who approve of our decided goals proclaim 'aye' three times," Jack moved.

We all did. Then I joined them on Jack's bed and the three of us let the contact, physical and mental, help to relax us.

Eventually our parents knocked on the door, and the three of us called them in.

My mother took pictures until we threatened to kick her out, but eventually she and my father told us that the Watchers would meet via conference call that night to discuss the next move and to decide which Watchers would be sent to provide extra security and to start preparation and planning in the event that they decided to meet with Volturi.

* * *

Izzy and my mother made dinner together, after giving all the men in the house a lecture on the fact that they were doing so out of a fondness for the culinary arts and not because we, as men, inherently deserved to be served.

Because of the urgency of the topics to be discussed, the Conference call started shortly after dinner.

We sat in our usual position in my father's office with the phone on speaker.

As per usual, The conference call started with a roll call, done as usual by Andrew Phillips.

"Izzy?"

She answered, "Here."

"And Jack?"

"At her side," he intoned.

"Jamie?"

"Here and with my family," I answered.

"Colby?"

A male voice with a southern accent answered, "here."

"And Haydn?"

A different male voice startled me slightly as it answered, "at his side."

There were fewer same sex Matches, but they did happen, and the Watchers were egalitarian enough that they were treated no differently from all others.

"Mac?" Andrew asked.

"Present."

And the roll continued, with Wes, my parents and a few other pairs being called before the meeting was official started, this time by my Mother.

The situation was explained, in the most clear of terms to all Watchers everywhere. It was agreed that the heads would need to take time to think and to talk amongst themselves about the specifics but that the meeting would take place, and likely somewhere near Forks, because of its small population and because of the number of available of available allies in the event that a fight broke out.

It was also agreed that more Watchers would be sent to the area for protection and so that more practical and area specific kinds of planning could start.

The discussion turned towards who would be sent.

A woman with a French accent volunteered, but she was struck down in favor of someone closer.

"Let's think practically," Andrew started before his wife and Match, Rebecca, continued, " Forks is a small town, and it might be easier to sent a younger Matched pair because they'd be easier to house, and they won't be forced away from jobs. Not only that the person will have to be there for an extended stay, less culture shock would make for an easier transition."

"Anyone specific in mind?" a woman with a Russian accent asked.

"Yes," Andrew replied, " My brother Jonathan's son and his Match, Mac and Wes, fit the bill admirably. They've been Watchers since they were fourteen, and they both have powers that could be used offensively. Wes is telekinetic, she can manipulate matter with her mind. Mac uses a special brand of empathy, he amplifies the affect music on the body, emotional, physical, all of it. Not to mention that my family has been tied to the Stevens family through bonds of friendship for longer than it bears discussing."

"We would, of course be willing to do whatever is necessary to maintain the balance and to protect our friends," Mac added, somehow managing to make his offer sound like a mandate.

"Then we have a motion. Let us join together and proclaim 'aye' three times if the will is to send Elizabeth Wesley Alders and Michael Phillips to aid in protection and planning efforts."

Three 'ayes' were intoned by the group.

"Any objections?" Wes's voice sounded almost threatening, and I feared for the life of anyone who dared object.

Happily, no one did.

"Then all are agreed. Can we also agree that the Watchers will remain in Forks for the duration of the school year, regardless of when the meeting takes place? If that is the case then the two of them could transfer and graduate from high school on time. Both of them have received acceptances to college already, and we would frown on endangering their futures," Rebecca said.

Another round of 'aye's followed.

It was agreed that transfer and travel arrangements would be made during the week, with plans for the Matched pair to arrive on the approaching Saturday.

Then the meeting was adjourned, by one of the Antarctic Watchers who was stationed in Asia, with the same warning as the meetings before.

"Uphold the balance at all costs, and keep our secrets for in them lie our safety."

One round of farewells later, we hung up the phone.

Izzy left soon after, with promises to ask Charlie about letting Wes stay with them for a while, so that Mac could use the guest room at our house. My parents had guessed that they'd send that particular Match, and our 'Match and big brother time' earlier had given them time to plan.

After Izzy left, Jack and I fell into our respective beds, exhausted.

The next morning, my parents and I decided that I should go back to school to arrange to have my homework and the powerpoints from my teacher's lectures e-mailed to me so that I could work from home.

I wasn't at full capacity, not without a fully formed bond with my new (and still unidentified) Match, but the idea that I could be needed soon made it nearly impossible for me to consider staying away.

I won't say much about my conversation with Leah that Sunday afternoon, because I've gone on for quite a bit as is, but I will say that after the hard discussions of the evening and the morning before we spoke, our easy exchange of opinions was needed, more than I can say.

It helped me, and I left her my number because I hoped that, on some level, it'd helped her too.

I'd put the few things that I was taking back with me into my jeep that morning, so when I left the beach, I turned towards the highway. As I drove back towards Seattle, I thought more seriously about my second Match and who it might be. I thought of people that I had not only met, but met and spent time with since the school year started; new people in my life with whom I'd felt comfortable. I added people to whom I'd been reintroduced, because if I'd met my second match while still matched to Alex, there would have been no reaction (because my soul was complete). It was a relatively short list, because between homework and the "family business" I didn't have much meet and greet time.

Suddenly, as I drove, it hit me.

I knew who my match was!

The girl from Geometry Class!

The ring of my cell phone interrupted my revelation. It was my mother.

"No Jamie," she said, somewhat apologetically, "it's not her. And you really should get better with remembering names. Gotta go, Dear, I'm burning dinner, bye!"

I pulled my Jeep over to side of the road before letting my head fall heavily against the steering wheel, frustrated.

It would be days of paperwork, begging teachers, explaining to roommates, and randomly asking people to meditate with me before I realized that I'd left someone off of the list

* * *

So there you go. It's Leah's turn again, and since she has just as much right to bring in a new teller as I have, I don't know for sure that I'll return after her part. Nonetheless I leave you to her tender mercies, and I look forward to telling you more when it's time.

* * *

Hey guys! I've had a lot of encouragement while working on this chapter so I'll start the author's note by thanking my readers and reviewers and reminding you all that **I'm still planning to do an outtakes chapter for this fic** and that the top three reviewers will get give me a prompt stating what scene that was not included in the fic that they'd like for me to write (or what p.o.v, or what scene from eclipse or breaking dawn they'd like to see remodeled to fit this au.)

**To clear up confusion** on where we are in the timeline, I will say that now all characters are on the same page 1 week after the action in Seattle, and Leah will likely pick up and continue from early in the week following this one. I'll work on specifying what month we're in and get back to you next authors note.

See you as soon as I can write the next chapter (give me at least a week) and **I look forward to your thoughts on this chapter**. as usual forgive any typos, I'm posting before running off to class.

**there was an edit on Wes's power at 1:13 pm, 1/19/10 US eastern time, if you read this before then please note the change.


	11. Leah and Stepping Forward

Life is a bitch.

No, don't worry. You are not currently experiencing déjà vu. You haven't traveled back in time, either. I'm just saying it again because not only is it very true, it's very relevant to this part of the story. For similar reasons however, I will add that, when it tries really hard, redemption is possible. And when it fails, well that's ok too. Because life may be a bitch, but so am I.

* * *

I woke up early on Monday morning and put my clothes in my backpack. Sam had called a meeting to discuss the Volturi's recent call to Izzy.

We didn't need to meet. Anyone who'd transformed at the same time as Sam, or at the same time as anyone who had, knew the deal.

The big bad that had sent the Watchers racing to foreign soil after the Cullen boy was coming to our doorstep; more cold ones, and more Watchers. We knew, but then, we all knew a lot that should never be said aloud. Can you blame us for sacrificing efficiency over something that could be?

We were sitting around Emily's kitchen table, dressed and as human as we ever were, in jeans and t-shirts. Sam explained the new developments with the Watchers.

"They told us so that we wouldn't try and kill them; said we'd be outnumbered. They plan to squash these leeches eventually, but they don't plan to be near here when they do it. Their numbers will increase in the area, but that just means that we won't get stuck patrolling as far as Forks to keep the cold ones from snacking on innocents," he said, flatly.

While he spoke he made eye contact with each of us in turn. Part of me felt a little ashamed at how much I enjoyed the flash of pure hurt that darkened his eyes as they met mine. I couldn't let it go just yet.

In response to his news, there were the usual xenophobic comments. People complained that the Watchers were not like us, and should not be trusted. Jacob and Seth reminded them that Izzy, at least, was our friend, and that she would use her position as secondary liaison to our advantage if she could. Besides, Jack still called and hung out with the pack when he had the time to spare. Most of the pack liked him, regardless of his loyalties and his seemingly inherited pompous nature.

After the meeting, Jacob drove Seth and me to school.

At lunch, a couple of hours later, I was startled to hear my cell phone ring. I didn't recognize the number, but I answered anyway, happy to be pulled away from the math homework that I'd been doing.

"Hey, is this Leah?" Izzy asked. I knew her voice from the few times we'd spoken before.

"You got me," I replied, " don't you have school today too?"

"Yes but I'm calling during lunch. I was wondering if you might like to hang out soon. We talked about it before but things got hectic on my end," she said, somewhat apologetically.

She wanted to hang out with me? I felt a flash of irritation towards her and I remembered my suspicions from the weekend before. If I was right, if she'd really left Jamie for Jack, as I thought, then I didn't really feel like being friends.

My mind flashed to the Cullen boy though, and I realized that my theory didn't make sense, because she'd been with him since days after her arrival in Forks. Unless she'd broken up with Jamie before she'd moved…

I needed more information.

Reluctantly, I replied, " What do have in mind?"

"I have Buffy the Vampire slayer on dvd, several seasons. I could come over and we could watch it after school," she suggested, softly but confidently, "You could also come with me to self-defense on Thursday if you'd swear not to injure anyone irreversibly."

"That sounds ok, I guess. Tonight?" I asked.

Why did she want to hang out that night? What was the rush? Suspicion has a way of snowballing. I had no way of knowing whether or not I could trust her, and my uncertainty brought half formed fears constantly to the surface of my mind.

"If you don't mind the short notice," she replied, more assertively than before. "Jack was coming up to hang out with Jacob, Quil, and Embry, anyway. If I drive we might actually make it there without his rust bucket breaking down on the way."

Her voice warmed as she spoke about Jack, and I wanted to hit her.

"Tonight it is then; I'll see you in a few hours."

After I hung up, I called my mother to make sure that it was ok.

She was enthusiastic about our plans, and she gave me permission to order pizza.

"I'm sure that you two will get along marvelously," she encouraged.

After she hung up, I made a mental list of things that needed doing before Izzy arrived, and then left the cafeteria to make it to class on time.

After school, I ordered the pizza and straightened up around the house. There wasn't much to do, because my mother had been cleaning to stay busy at home but I straightened the cushions on the couch and cleared room on the table for the pizza. Then I turned on the t.v and let it drone on in the background while I tried to school my features into something relatively neutral. I was annoyed, and paranoid, and annoyed at myself for feeling paranoid. Not only that, I was confused.

_Jamie doesn't seem angry about this, why should I be? _I thought. _If the eye drop fetcher is too much of a saint to react like a human being, what do I care?_

Then I thought about how nice his company had been, and I shifted focus to the ditzy blond who was praising Steven Colbert for his hard-line conservative stance.

About half an hour later, the door bell rang.

* * *

Izzy smiled at me as I opened the door. She was wearing a long sleeved black shirt with "I'm Watching You" emblazoned in deep red with white accents across the front, along with jeans that were decorated with fangs and bat wings.

"Hiding in plain sight these days?" I asked, rolling my eyes and hoping to hide how funny I thought that it was. I didn't want to like her. She was Emily's evil alternate self from the parallel universe known as Forks.

"I guess you could say that," she answered, "I'd ask for an invitation in, but that would likely just give you a reason to cancel."

I was side-tracked by that.

"Wait, they actually need an invitation?" I asked, disbelievingly. I stepped aside to let her in then stayed by the door because the pizza delivery car was just down the street.

"Don't I wish!"

Her eyes closed as if she were dreaming of the prospect, then opened and found mine to answer my question more seriously.

"The cold ones don't," she said, shortly, "but the Buffy vampires do."

There was a pause in the conversation as I paid for the Pizza and put it on the table.

"I'll get the plates if you tell me where they are," she offered.

"Middle cabinet, third shelf from the bottom. One of them entered un-invited?" I asked, curious.

"Edward, before we started dating, and sometimes more recently when he feels the need to have his pride stepped on," she smiled with distant satisfaction, "I'm starting to think that ex-boyfriends are only good for target practice."

She was talking about Edward but in my mind I saw Jamie, the untold hurt aging him prematurely and all because she'd ditched him for the newer model, and I wanted to slap her.

"Whatever," I said in a tone on the irritated side of neutral. I grabbed a slice of pizza and started to eat while reminding myself of my objective. I wanted to know the story behind the three of them and, to do that, I was going to have to play nice with the bitch.

"At least you've got Jack now, right?" I continued, unable to stop a little of my anger from coloring my tone.

"Right, and he's great. Living well really does make the best revenge."

She'd said it meaning one thing, but once again I heard another.

"Doesn't seem to work for his brother," I spat, abandoning any subtlety that I'd been planning to employ in a rush of pure and simple anger. My body was starting to shake.

"The one who caused his pain is beyond his reach," she answered calmly as she picked up a slice of pizza. Then she looked up at me and murmured, "Leah, what's wrong?"

I was seeing red.

"Maybe beyond his reach but not beyond mine," I hissed.

Her eyes widened and she started to back away as transformed, thinking only about the terrible cold-blooded snake that she had to be to hurt and manipulate people the way that I thought she did.

I felt the fabric of my clothes tighten and tear, cutting in some places as I gained mass and fur.

My mouth hurt as I transformed, and something felt strange but I quickly brushed it off in my rush to punish her for purposefully doing to Jamie what Izzy had done to me and for being enough of a bitch that she could brag about it.

She tried to run up the stairs, because my huge form had blocked other options, but tripped on the bottom stair.

I loomed over her, teeth bared and ready strike at her. I raised an enormous paw, and moved to do that, as she began to talk, likely begging me not to hurt her. my nails were millimeters from her face when my paw froze, as though paralyzed.

_No! I've almost got her! _My mind raged impotently as the memories of Sam's order not to harm the Watchers unless they betrayed the pack flooded my mind like a scene shot from different angles.

I couldn't disobey a direct order, not from him.

I snarled down at her as I tried helplessly to force myself to disobey but it was useless. I realized that the words coming from her mouth weren't pleas. They were explanations; lies.

"I didn't hurt him! It's not what you think! I meant death. Death took her away from him so he can't avenge her. There's been a misunderstanding!"

I shifted back to human form. I needed to be able to either talk to her or call up a hit-man.

"Oh trust me; I understand exactly what's going on. You ditched him for his brother, and now you use him for 'target practice'," I spat disgusted.

She looked so confused that it threw me off for a moment.

"Where did you get the idea that he and I ever dated?" she asked, in a tone that couldn't have shown more hesitance to the idea if it had jumped up and yelled " OMG, wtf?".

"The way he looks at you and at Jack when you're together. Like he's jealous, like it hurts."

I left out what he'd said on the beach.

"His…His girlfriend died in a car accident a couple of years ago. Jack and I are a lot like they were. I met Jack first, and Edward was my first boyfriend," she rattled off, killing my theory and making me feel more than a little foolish.

"Oh," I said, reeling from the revelations, wondering suddenly what she'd been like, the girlfriend. "You and Jamie…?"

"Are closer to siblings than anything," she explained softly.

For a moment we stood staring at each other, unsure of what to do now that the storm had passed.

I don't know who started it, but suddenly laughter burst into the room and we found ourselves clutching our sides as we laughed like women gone mad.

"God! You thought that I… holy…you must have thought I was a monster!" Izzy said between bouts of giggles and gasping breaths.

"You…you looked so scared! And …I'm sorry, I just…lost it."

For a long time we stood, letting the tension vanish under the waves of laughter, until finally we composed ourselves and sat down to watch an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

"So what's the verdict?" Izzy asked, as the credits played. She'd shown me the episode where Oz realized that he'd become a werewolf.

"I'm not sure how I feel about Whedon's portrayal of Werewolves, but Oz is ok," I replied.

We agreed to meet up and watch another episode on Wednesday, this time at her house because Mom had planned to head to Forks to meet up with Charlie.

A while after she left, Seth and Mom came home, Mom made dinner. I'd eaten the rest of the pizza.

I did some chores and then headed up to bed.

Lying in my bed, I thought back to those days when Sam had been off alone, his disappearance after he'd phased the first time. I thought about how horrible it had been to think that something had happened to him. I thought about my Dad, the feeling of grief, the memory grief and anger that had left me shaking for days.

I felt for Jamie. I envied his support system, but even I had to admit that as much of a bitch as life had been to me, it had done him wrong too. He needed what he had, and I couldn't begrudge him for it.

That night I dreamt of wolves, real ones, not the giants that the pack became. I saw their togetherness without the horror of a shared mind, and the freedom that they embraced through pack life, the option of disobedience and a pack leader that couldn't rule by empty orders alone.

When I woke up my bed smelled a little funny, and later I would note some odd scratches in my sheets, but I let it go, because I was late for school.

* * *

The next evening was awkward. Neither of us knew what to talk about, both of us kept secrets that weren't ours and the things that we had in common weren't things that we wanted to think about.

We watched the episode of Buffy downstairs in their living room then went upstairs to hang out until Charlie and my mom got back.

She stood in the doorway while I looked around. It was small seeming and everything from the pictures taped on the walls to old computer on the desk screamed her history there. The room had a lingering, harsh smell; cold one, I realized. There was also Izzy's scent, which was different in this room because what I typically recognized as Izzy was a mix of her and Jack. They always seemed to be together on the way to each other. Just like…I turned my mind away from the thought.

There was a photo album open on the desk, and the window was open.

I heard Izzy swear under her breath.

"Damn disco ball can't take a hint."

I looked at the open pages of the album. It was a picture of one Edward Cullen, torn down one side.

"You keep a picture of him?" I asked disbelievingly.

"He was mine," she replied softly.

"You still want him?"

My voice was louder with this question. I didn't understand.

"I loved him, ok, or I thought I did. He was too much a part of me to just… I couldn't just make myself a new life and pretend that he never happened. You know?"

I didn't, but I lied rather than admit that the closest I'd come to fixing my life after Sam was helping to plan his wedding.

"Yeah, I get it. Nailing that window shut might be a good idea though," I suggested.

"That might slow him down a little bit, I suppose," she replied wryly, "though after this week I'll at least have some back up on hand if he wants to stick around and monologue at me."

"One of the new Watchers?" I asked, curious.

She nodded, then moved from the doorway to sit on her bed.

"Wes. We've been texting throughout the day when either of us can spare the time. Maybe the politics will work out that you'll be able to meet her. She seems pretty cool," Izzy grinned.

"I might like that," I returned, before moving to sit next to her on the bed, "So…What did you mention earlier about a self-defense class?"

"It's pretty awesome. It's taught by a woman and there's a strong focus on solidarity among women. It's sort of about learning your own strength, and respecting others. As a rule when we're working out we call each other sisters. It's a little hokey, but it's nice and there are some terrific instructors in the bunch," she summed up.

"Sisters, huh? Hokey is right, but I guess it's worth a shot," I conceded.

For a few minutes after that she showed me some of the things she'd learned over the months that she'd been training. She was pretty good.

Her size, and the quiet of her presence made her easy to underestimate, but her confidence was there in spades. If she masked it when she didn't need to appear formidable, it was her choice and her business.

When she managed to pin me on the floor, I even had to accept that those "sisters" might have something going.

Soon after, Charlie and my mom got back and Mom drove us home.

When we got back, I stopped by Seth's room to make sure he was there and safe. He was, so I went on to my room.

On the way home I'd thought about what Izzy had mentioned, that she couldn't just start life over like Cullen had never been part of it. I hadn't tried to start over, but I hadn't tried to fix it either.

I'd spent a good portion of my time since Sam had imprinted feeling like crap and insuring that Sam did too.

On one level it was because of the pack mind, which caused everything from a lack of privacy to sometimes near constant bombardment by Sam's confusing feelings and devastating love for Emily. It was a big level, but there was also the fact that I'd been hurt, and abandoned, and betrayed for Sam. Then the universe had forced him to turn his back on me too.

My world had crumbled during and shortly after he'd come back from his disappearance, when I'd been shunned by association because people had thought the worst of him.

All he'd done was step on the pieces, and he'd been grinding them into the pavement without a choice.

It sucked, but what didn't was the fact that my problems predated my status as a pack member so the solutions could come sooner than I'd hoped.

On an impulse I reached for my cell phone, where the number of one Jamie Stevens had languished since the weekend before, and I called him.

I never made it to that self-defense thing with Izzy the next day. Jamie is going to help explain why.

Now, stop frowning at me like that. I'll be back, maybe sooner than you expect, but Jamie needs attention sometimes too.

Oh! And I promise that I'll get back to you on life was a bitch in this part when he stops yapping.

* * *

Here it is! I tried to do better with the descriptions in this chapter and I wrote more slowly to try and get it right, but finally it's here.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story, I write it because you enjoy it and reviews are how you tell me that you do (or that you don't and I should fix stuff, cause I can do that too).

I glanced it over but as always, forgive me for any mistakes that slipped past me.

Da Future: Revelations from several sides rock several worlds and the typical chapter format


	12. Jamie and Leah or Matching Up

It was late when I answered the phone.

It was a Wednesday, and the week leading up to it had been an utter mess as I'd struggled with my professors to make it possible to complete most of the semester from home. At the same time, I'd developed a very sudden and very public interest in meditation, asking anyone I'd met since the semester began to meditate with me.

I didn't feel pulled towards any one. I didn't feel more protective than usual. I only felt embarrassed, and exposed as a direct result of a thousand whys and "are you serious"es.

By that Wednesday night I'd managed to creep out or alienate nearly everyone I knew, including my roommate, Andy, who didn't understand why I had to leave the campus for the rest of the semester.

Apparently "family issues" was a sketchy reason to rearrange one's life.

I could have told him that there were issues with the family business, as my parents and grandparents might have. That's what I told my professors, but I wasn't all that comfortable sounding like a mafia member to my friends.

I'd been running laps at a track not too far from the dorms to relieve stress when she called.

I slowed to a stop, pulling my phone out and glancing at the unfamiliar number before flipping it open.

"Jamie Stevens. May I ask whose calling?" I rattled off quickly.

"Three guesses, Sidekick, and the first two don't count."

Leah. I recognized her voice almost instantly. There was a softness to her mocking that threw me for a moment. I tried to respond with a similar tone, to let her set the terms of our interaction.

"Business or pleasure? Did someone hire you to take me out, oh fearsome pack assassin?" I shot back lightly.

"Me? Take you out for money? What kind of girl do you think I am?" she replied, jokingly insulted before getting serious. "Not about business. If it was, I would be Sam and I'd be talking to your brother. Or to Izzy."

"True."

There was a pause as we searched for the next topic, and in that pause it occurred to me.

She was new in my life.

She'd been there, and threatened the night I'd realized that I was coming into a new ability.

It only takes a second, if it's your match. Like that James Blunt song that played constantly on the radio a while back. You make contact, and you walk away changed.

"Has anything strange been happening to you lately?"

The question popped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"Stranger than not aging and turning into a gigantic wolf regularly? Maybe. Why?"

" I can't…Just answer me and I'll tell you why later," I asked, stumbling over my words as I tried to make myself understand what might have happened. "Have you been hanging out with a different set of people? maybe met someone new in the past few weeks?"

"Just you and the rest of the stalker squad. I hung out with Izzy this week. If you don't tell me why you're asking, I'll find a way to kick your ass and Sam's orders can sodomize themselves."

Her voice was starting to raise, and I hated to push it when I knew was mad, but I had one more question.

"You have school tomorrow, right? On the reservation?" I asked, a plan forming in my mind.

"Yes I have school, what the hell is going on? Why are you-"

"I swear it'll make sense soon, but I have to go now," I said apologetically, before hanging up to the sound of her protests.

I needed to get back to my room.

I needed to pack and send a few e-mails.

The world blurred as I ran back to the dorms, feeling the urgent need to go find her and see if she really was the other half of my soul. I'd planned to leave school on Friday, so a good portion of my side of the dorm room was packed up. I just needed to pack the rest and e-mail my teachers so that I could stop by their offices the next morning and get the work I'd need.

After a moment's rest, once I'd gotten back to the room, I called Jack and asked him to tell our parents that I'd be there tomorrow.

"I'll let them know. Why are you coming back so early?" he asked, half curious, and half suspicious that there was something else I hadn't told him.

"I think my...my second match is near there, on the reservation. I won't say who until I'm sure but I have to get there to check, so we can get her informed," I explained, whispering the last sentence as Andy entered the room.

"On the reservation? I'd better let you pack then. I'll need my rest to deal with the diplomatic implications of this."

He sounded pompous, and a little too proud of being the one who could smooth things over.

It made me want to tell him who I suspected just because of the diplomatic nightmare it would present, just because it would wipe the smirk off of his face.

I clicked my phone shut and went back to packing, taking the last things out of my closet and setting out an outfit for the next day.

Across the room, Andy sat quietly making marks on staff paper and occasionally looking up disapprovingly.

He had every right to be annoyed with me for abandoning him mid-semester, so I tried to ignore him as I pulled a small box out from the back of the closet.

After…After Alex died, when the pain was fresh and I still felt the glaring, blasphemous, absence of her life on earth, my parents had gathered up pictures of her, things that she'd left with me and divided them between two boxes. One that I could sob over and one kept safe. In the midst of my pain, during one of the attempts I'd made to escape it, I'd burned one.

I opened it pulling out a picture of her standing in a large group. The picture was from the last time the Phillips family had come to visit, and it featured all of the active watchers from the time; Wes and Mac, Alex and I, My parents and grandparents, Mac's parents, and a host of aunts and uncles from the Phillips family.

It had been a wonderful time. The house had been full, and Mac and I had bonded over the unstoppable nature of our matches and the four of us had spent hours wandering at the edges of the city where burned and broken things wouldn't draw much attention, and where Mac couldn't accidentally hurt someone while listing to rock music.

Wes had been incredible to be around. Her life force was indescribably brilliant, like a symphony to me, one that never seemed to tire or get old. She was confident, fierce, and independent. Every inch of her screamed "wild child" and it was to all of our extreme appreciation that she used her powers more for good than evil.

Mac had played immovable object to her unstoppable force for years before that first time we met her, and he had the battle scars to prove it, but he somehow managed to distinguish himself, to shine on his own and in his own way even as he prevented her from literally taking the world by storm.

I hadn't seen them in person since shortly after Alex's accident, and I was looking forward to their company, even if I wouldn't ever feel their life forces again.

I refocused on the picture, Alex's face drawing my eyes in and arresting them as it ever had in person, in life. She'd been the better half of my soul, and I'd planned a life with her. She'd loved me so completely, so truly, that it shouldn't have surprised me that even in death she'd left room for someone else to take her place.

Not just someone, if my guess was right. Leah Clearwater, the Assassin of Sam's pack.

As I put the picture away I wondered if maybe Alex's soul hadn't been rattled just a little in the accident. Of all the people to shape my soul for, why in the name of all things beautiful had she chosen someone who seemed almost as broken as I did sometimes?

* * *

And now for something, or rather someone completely different; its Leah's turn. No pauses or interruptions this time save for this one. Leah, are you ready?

* * *

When am I not? …Alright, when besides then? ... Exactly, and you said no interruptions, so kindly shut up and let me tell the story.

* * *

Life is a bitch.

I know I said that before, but now I can finally explain why.

After that phone call with Jamie, I was angry. So angry that one of my favorite sets of pajamas joined the set of rags that mom used to dust the attic, and I had a couple of annoying cuts from where the spaghetti straps had met with my shoulders as I'd phased.

I resolved to ask Izzy's opinion on the incident, or to find a ride up to Seattle and kick his ass, and went to bed.

The next morning is a blur to my memory, indistinguishable from weeks of other mornings, patrolling with my brother and some other random pack member, dressing behind a tree to avoid blinding Seth and fueling the fantasies of the entire pack, getting a ride to school.

Then, during lunch, the intercom sputtered to life a bored sounding secretary's voice came, enclosed in static but still understandable.

"Leah Clearwater, come to the front office to be checked out. Leah Clearwater, come to the front office."

_What the hell?_

A series of whispers made its way around the cafeteria but I stood and hurried to the office. My mother and Sam were the only ones with the authority to sign me out of school. Something must have happened. An attack? Was my mother ok? A glance across the room told me that Seth was alright, and he moved to get up and follow me but I stopped him with a look.

My brother was not getting in trouble for skipping his next class, not if I could handle whatever it was on my own.

When I got to the office I stopped in a moment of pure and unadulterated shock.

Jamie Stevens.

Jamie the eye drop fetching, broken hearted, cryptic statement making ass Stevens was standing in the office at my school talking politely to the secretary like he had every right in the world to be there.

Before shock could turn to anger, he shoved a piece of paper into my hands. It was a note from my mother.

" Leah, Mary Stevens called me this morning and informed me that there was some urgent information that the watchers needed to get to you. She said that it could mean a brighter outlook for your future and promised to explain later as long as I allowed one of her boys to pick you up from school and get you that information. Jamie has a second note to give to the school, and I've been promised that you'll be home by dinner time, or the alliance, and the treat with the Cold Ones will be forfeit. I'll expect an explanation then. Take care of yourself."

I counted backwards from ten, trying to hold on to both my temper and my questions.

"Alright," I said, folding the note and putting it in my pocket, "Let's go."

I followed him to a car that looked like it probably belonged to his parents, and when we got in, I let him have it.

"What the hell is going on?" I shouted, as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"Look, I swear I'll explain soon, but you have to do something first, confirm a suspicion of mine," he replied, sounding so stressed and tense that I nearly felt bad for yelling at him.

"Will you at least tell me where we're going? And what do you want me to do?" I asked, still angry but trying to be forgiving. I mean, after all, whatever this was, it was more interesting than school would have been.

"First beach. I need you to meditate with me, and I can't explain more than that because it goes into some serious Watcher business and, as you've told me before, you can't keep secrets," he said glancing towards me before returning his eyes to the road. He sighed before continuing, trying to sound soothing, "I couldn't hurt you if I wanted to, none of us could really. Just trust me when I say that this is complicated, but I won't let it be harmful to you."

He sounded so sincere that I decided if not to trust him, to go along and give him the benefit of the doubt.

"I've never meditated before," I replied, and the words dropped, like leaves that the wind has abandoned, because he pulled into a parking space and got out of the car, walking around to open my door.

He led me to a spot just out of reach of the water, then asked me to sit down.

"You'll want to be comfortable," he said, sitting down next to me. "Close your eyes, and feel. Let your awareness drift out as far as you can."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, more curious than suspicious.

"The same thing," he replied softly, looking resigned as he closed his eyes. I did as he asked.

The world came alive around me as I became aware of the feel of my clothes on my skin, the sand, and the waves, and the odd small thread that seemed to reach towards Jamie, and then suddenly the thread gave way to a feeling peace, and completion like none I'd ever known.

It was perfect until it ended abruptly and I was startled out of my meditation.

"Did you feel that," Jamie asked, just a little bit desperate and at the edge of tears.

"Yeah. I felt it. Calm down. Is it that big a deal?"

I was more than a little weirded out by his intensity.

"Sort of. We need to go see my parents, and possibly get Izzy and Jack. I'll explain on the way, so no phasing and or murdering me," he said quickly, walking towards the car.

I followed him and when we were back in the car, and headed down the road, he began speaking.

"Ask me, one more time," he said, sounding tired.

"What's going on?"

I wasn't sure if that was the question he wanted, but he answered nonetheless.

"In short?" he said, carefully. "You're becoming a Watcher. There's a big epic legend, an origin story and everything, that you'll learn in time, but it boils down to this. No one comes to this world complete, we are each only half of a completed soul, and somewhere in the world is the other half; a person whose soul matches with yours, like a puzzle piece."

He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before continuing, "you know that there are more types of beings in this world than most people are aware of. You're one of them. Matches are protected from those beings that would try to harm them. All Watchers are Matches."

"So Jack and Izzy are really soul-mates then?" I asked, to make sure that I understood. Then it occurred to me… "Me? and who? You?"

"Jack and Izzy are matches, yes. There's more to it though. Before I continue, I need to tell you that nothing has to change because of this unless you want it to, ok?"

"I get it. So what else is there?"

"Matches with knowledge of the system are Watchers. We are called that because that's what we do. Vampires are predators, some shape-shifters like you and the pack, are protectors, and Watchers are like a silent mediator between forces. We watch, we learn, and on the rarest of occasions we act in order to keep the various opposing forces from destroying the world or each other. All matches bring traits out in each other; in Watchers those traits are amplified. There's also the matter of meditating, and the odd nearly psychic bond that forms between Matched Watchers, but that's the gist of it. If you decide that you don't want to be a watcher, there's a way to break the bond between you and well..me. But I ask that you learn more about it before you do, because once you end it it's done for good."

There was silence as I tried to grasp everything he'd said. It sounded like imprinting, but without the creepy personality altering aspects.

"But… I barely even like you," I said, thinking out loud, "and if you're a Watcher then shouldn't you already have a Match?"

"I did. She died in a car accident, a couple of years ago. When the bond between matches breaks, it hurts like hell, and my match power turned painful too, so I got rid of it. When the bond breaks it can change someone, alter their soul so it fits with another soul. That's what's happened here. And I don't know you well enough to like you much either. Not all matches are romantically involved, though the majority are. You just have to meet your match to activate your match power. Spending time together strengthens it."

"I…I'm sorry for your loss," I whispered, as things about Jamie started to make sense. Then I remembered what my mother's letter had said. "How could this mean a brighter outlook for my future?"

"If your Match power helps you keep your mind private when you phase, or if lets you stop phasing, you'll be better off than before, right?" he answered, "If nothing else, the Watchers have worldwide connections. We can find ways to help you do or be anything that you want."

So I was sitting in a car, heading to Forks, with the world open before me, complete with new adventures and a special set of secrets all to myself and all I could think about was that Sam hadn't been my soul-mate even though I'd loved him more than nearly everyone, and sacrificed my heart and my reputation for him.

Say it with me everyone.

Life is a bitch.

After a while, we pulled up in front of the Stevens house, where Mary Stevens was waiting on the front porch.

"You told her," she said, looking from me to him.

"You told Alex and I, and Jack and Izzy. It was someone else's turn," he replied.

"Well come on you two, back to the study. Jack and Izzy will be here in a bit and we can answer in of your questions, Leah," she asserted quickly before leading the way inside.

As I walked back to the study, noting that the Stevens' home was every bit of the middle class splendor that I might expected, it occurred to me that even with the uncomfortable revelation about how much I'd sacrificed for someone that I now knew was never meant for me, this was a really sweet deal.

So when they sat down in the study and looked at me with concern written all over their faces, and sympathy for things that I wasn't really feeling, and asked, "Do you have any questions, Leah?"

I just smiled, and asked, " When do we start?"

* * *

To say that you could have knocked them over with a feather is an understatement of the highest order, but to their credit, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens did eventually recompose themselves, and set about making the phone calls to inform the watchers of their newest initiate and order a new copy of the Unseen Book of Things Seen. In between phone calls, the Stevens filled me in on some more elements of being a Watcher, and asked that I keep a tight lock on my temper so that I wouldn't phase and let the pack at large gain access to the information that they were giving me, at least not until Izzy and Jack could experiment with using their joint power to hold the information safe. All the while, Jamie kept glancing over at me as though waiting for me to go into shock.

I'd been debating the merits of telling him off in front of his parents when Jack's voice sounded down the hall.

"Is any one home?" he called, a little confused.

"Back here, Nimble, with your father, Jamie and a new friend," Mary called in response, winking at me mischievously.

The door the study burst open a moment later as Jack and Izzy entered.

"Did you find her?" Izzy asked before taking the time to look around.

"if, by her you mean me, then I guess he did," I said, startling her a bit.

She smiled as she realized the truth.

"You couldn't have hoped for better, neither of you," she said softly, before hugging Jamie in greeting. Then she turned to me with a stern look, promising consequences if I hurt him. I met her eyes. I'd do what I had to do to get by. I barely knew Jamie, and I wasn't going to promise that my interests weren't going to rank higher to me than his just because I was now connected to him at the deepest level.

She nodded slightly before taking Jack's hand and leading him over to the couch where I was sitting. She sat next to me and he sat on the arm of chair.

"So, you seem to be handling all of this pretty well so far. I guess they've gotten better at the speech?" Jack said after a moment.

"They didn't tell me, Jamie did. And he explained it well so he can stop waiting for me to faint whenever he's ready," I replied to the amusement of everyone except him, "Why? Are they that bad?"

I'd spoken as though they weren't sitting right across from me, and I was about to apologize but their expressions stopped me.

Far from looking insulted, slow smiles were appearing on Joshua and Mary's faces. I noticed the scents of two new people in the house, and wondered at how they'd gotten in unnoticed.

"Half of the people that they've told ran for it before they could finish, so I'd say they could use a little work, yes," someone answered calmly. Jamie, Jack, Izzy, and I had been sitting with our backs to the door and we jumped up, and turned to see a pale girl with long brown hair, who looked so much like Izzy that I nearly did a double take. Only her eyes, which were hazel rather than dark brown, kept her being an exact match.

Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a t-shirt and well-worn jeans with converse sneakers.

"Elizabeth Wesley Alders, What have I told you about breaking the lock on the door," Mrs. Stevens scolded smiling, " and what have you done with Mac?"

"Not to, ma'am but I've gotten better. I unlocked it, and all of your keys should still work too," She grinned, "Mac is waiting by door like the well-raised gentleman that he is. Hello everyone, by the way."

I glanced over at Jamie, who was smiling sadly as he said, " Ladies and Gentlemen, Wes Alders".

"At your service," she said brightly before adding, "I'm sorry for rushing in like this. I wanted to surprise you. Also, we got a cheaper flight."

"I've been expecting you since Monday," Joshua Stevens replied with a smile, "now come on everyone, let's fetch young Michael, and attend to some much needed introductions."

Wes nodded slightly before turning and striding down the hall towards the front door with such an air of purpose that the rest of us could do nothing but follow in her wake.

* * *

Hey guys!!! I apologize, as always for how long it takes me to finish these chapters, but on the bright side, we has Wes!! There will be more on her next chapter, and likely more Jamie, since his chapter got hijacked. I thank you all for reading this, and remind you that I will someday finish this story and when I do, outtakes will be written for the top 3 most often heard from reviewers.

In honor of the appearance of two new characters I offer the chance for a shout-out at the beginning of the next chapter:

Which book by Sarah Dessen features the couple that inspired the names (but nothing else about their relationship or personality) Wes and Mac? (hint: I dropped a vowel from one of the names…don't look at me like that, sometimes it is a vowel)

(forgive typos as usual, efforts at editing were made, but rushed.)


	13. Izzy and Confrontations or Collisions

Shout it out for: NotSoSlightlyCrazy who figured out that Mac and Wes were named after Macy and…Wes from The Truth About Forever. I love that book and all 4 characters, and that's all that they really have in common, so no insight whatsoever can be thought up about the characters based on that. Long may she rule over the vast province of this chapter.

* * *

Hey did you hear that? … It's the phone for you. My brother says that Izzy was getting annoying while waiting for us to call her. She saw herself telling this part, and we were about to call her when Nimble finally lost patience with her. Here she is!

* * *

Finally! So, continuing from where Leah left off…

Mac was standing in the open doorway when we walked towards the living room. Dark curly hair peaked out from underneath a vintage bowler hat that looked odd with the dark jeans and button-up white shirt that he wore. He looked like an odd cross between a geek and a mobster, as easily noticed as ignored. Bright red ear-bud headphones and a matching Ipod were visible in the shirt's front pocket.

"Well now that you've made our first impression a memorable one, Wes, allow me to salvage our reputation. Hello Mrs. And Misters Stevens, and the same to Ms. Swan and…" he hesitated when his eyes found Leah.

"Leah Clearwater," she supplied, intrigued.

"Thank you, and hello to you as well Ms. Clearwater. Will you welcome a family friend and fellow keeper of the balance, and the world?" he continued.

"We welcome you, and invite you in. You must be tired. Why did you bother with the flight? You two teleport together don't you?" Mrs. Stevens returned.

"Oh, but then I'd miss flying! I love the peanuts! You know, they never taste as good anywhere else. Besides, like I said, it was a really cheap flight. We did teleport from the airport. Mac, you've been invited in now, so hurry up, I'd like to get better acquainted with our new friends soon," Wes said, calmly and paced so that someone could have responded before she'd said all that she wanted to in the moment.

No one felt the need. Wes had that effect on people.

"I'll come in when I chose, and that it happens to be now is a coincidence. Some help with the bags, please?" Mac requested.

The bags floated in after him, directed by Wes's hand, and we soon found ourselves standing in the living room.

Mac and Wes took a moment to properly greet the Stevens.

"Jamie, you're looking worlds better since the last time I saw you," Wes said as she hugged Jamie with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Mac's.

"She's right," Mac added. "The years have done you well."

"Charlatans and liars, both of you," he replied with a weak smile as they moved towards his parents.

"It must be genetic," Mac said as he was embraced by Mary Stevens, "it seems that it is the curse of the Stevens family to remain whole and hearty throughout the years."

"You'll have to send that magic our way when you're done with it," Wes added.

They didn't hug Jack, but Mac squeezed his shoulder lightly.

"Jack! It's great that you're finally in on the secret so we can get to know each other more than we could during our last visit. Your companionship was part of what we sacrificed for finding each other so young," Mac told him, while Wes chattered with Mary Stevens an arm's length away.

I saw Jack catch his eye, then smile before replying.

" I understand. Wes?" he called to get her attention, "For the sake of formality, I'd like you to meet Izzy, my match."

"It's great to finally meet you," Wes said to me, " it's like looking in a mirror from an alternate universe."

I agreed completely. Wes looked a lot like I had before Edward had left; long hair and pale skinned with similar bone structure. What's more was that her hazel eyes were the closest human approximation of the color that vampire's eyes turned after long enough on Dr. Cullen's diet plan.

It would be an understatement to say that it was surreal.

"You can say that again. Charlie is going to flip. This might actually make him forget that I told him that you were coming on Friday," I laughed in response.

She shrugged off the idea with a grin, "Surprises are nature's way of keeping parents young. It's a treatment that I apply regularly with my own. It won't be a problem will it? I could camp out here for a couple of days if it'd help."

"If you're ok with riding home on my motorcycle with me, then we'll be fine," I assured her. Her smile was contagious.

"You ride a motorcycle?" she asked, excited and impressed, "Mac, I've found your replacement."

He didn't roll his eyes, but the look on his face said that he'd wanted to.

While we'd spoken he'd been talking to Leah, who looked a little overwhelmed.

"If no one objects, could Wes and I give Leah a quick ride home? I think that she could use a little 'normal' right now," he asked, directing the question to Jamie and his parents.

"Leah, Can we meet at the beach after school tomorrow?" Jamie asked hesitantly.

"Sure, and I'm still not going to faint, so fix your expression before then," she scolded.

A smile flashed on his face before his face settled into a neutral expression.

"I'll try, and if you panic later, as I'm half convinced you would if you were anything like a normal human being, call me before you do something drastic," he replied.

"Same to you, eye drop fetcher," she said. Then Mac and Wes took her hands and the three of them disappeared.

Moments later Mac and Wes reappeared.

"I lent her a little peace before we left," Mac said, breaking the silence that had settled lightly in their absence.

"She'll still feel it after you're gone?" I asked, thinking of Jasper, who had to be nearby to maintain an effect. The elder Stevens shifted towards the kitchen, leaving their sons and guests to sit down while we talked.

"I do to a person what music does," he said with a half smile. " A good song stays with you. I'm not an empath, though I do read people fairly well."

"That's so cool," I replied, fascinated, " so much more handy than an ability that you can only use in sleep. So how long have you two been together?"

The two of them looked at each other knowingly before Wes replied, " in general, since we were about six. We aren't in a relationship though. I'm too much of a tom for him."

"It'd be like dating my sister," Mac added.

"Sorry," I blushed.

"It's ok, you'd know if they'd actually thought to tell you anything about us before we arrived," Wes said.

There was a moment of silence before Mrs. Stevens called over to us.

"My loves, have confidence in your new and old friends. If you want to talk in less crowded settings, I'd suggest one of the bedrooms," She said, cryptically as ever.

Jack and Jamie both seemed to stiffen slightly, and as neither of them seemed inclined to speak, I did.

"It really is a little crowded in here. Mac, would you mind if we went to the guest room? It's yours for the time being," I said softly. Tension was making a steady rise in the room.

"That sounds agreeable," he replied. His eyes met mine, and I tried to smile reassuringly.

Jamie led the way, and Jack and I followed hand in hand. Mac and Wes brought up the rear.

The guest room was set up much like the boys, with a bed against one wall, a small sofa near the head of the bed, and a book shelf on the wall between the sofa and the bed. A t.v and dvd player were set up across from the couch.

Jamie stood while Mac and Wes sat on the bed. I sat on the couch as Jack stood in front of them, trying to find the words.

"There's a bit of a mystery that we need to solve. We think that someone been less than truthful within the Watchers but before we tell you what we know, we need to know some things from the two of you. Will you consent to an interview?" he asked stiffly.

"What's a little interrogation between friends?" Wes answered, eyes narrowing slightly. Then she rolled her eyes and turned to Mac. "I've just realized! I sound eerily like you when annoyed. Does that say something about our friendship?"

He snorted, stifling a laugh before nodding his consent to the interview.

I stood and walked over; falling into a natural rhythm with Jack, moving as if we'd choreographed the interaction. I took his hand and then asked the first question.

"When were you first alerted to the threat of the Volturi?"

"About a month after…a friend's funeral," Mac answered, glancing at Jamie.

"Were you given a reason as to why they'd suddenly become a threat?" Jack asked.

Mac and Wes shared a glance.

"What is it?" Jamie asked, concerned.

"My parents talked to us about it. They told us that it was a matter of policy, maintaining it and breaking it to keep the balance. They gave us a choice of how to break policy," Mac answered. A general feeling of sadness came over me, over Jack, as Mac's power and his emotions mingled. Wes picked up where he left off.

"There was a secret, the specifics of policy that had to be maintained had to be a secret from certain Watchers, Your parents and you for example. They told us that we could know and lie, or that we could choose not to know," she said. Her eyes blazed as she continued, "I am not a liar. I am a damn good Watcher. The same is true of Mac. There was never really a choice. Jamie, you have to believe that we could never betray her memory, and our friendship, by tarnishing it with deceit."

Jamie and I looked to Jack. He nodded. They'd told the truth.

Jamie enveloped the two of them in a group hug. It was like he'd come home. Suddenly I felt like I could fly, like I'd been watching the pivotal scene in some epic movie and the music was bringing tears to my eyes. I laughed when I realized.

"Put a cap on it Mac; you're making me cry," Jack whined, having caught on soon after I had.

There was a moment of good-natured laughter before Wes brought us back to the topic at hand.

"You guys can fill us in later tonight, but it'll be dinner time soon. I want my warm meditation fuzzies before we go so can we plan to head to your house in half an hour, Izzy?" she asked.

I agreed, giggling at her terminology, and we split up, Jack and I going to his room.

For a while I just laid back in his arms as we sat on his sofa.

"Milady, wonderful and perfect, my heart, how much can happen in a day?" he whispered into my hair.

"A day," I whispered back, "A day can be a lifetime. Since I fall for you daily, my love for you is only ever a day old. Don't underestimate time."

He squeezed me, and I felt his mind drift into meditation. I joined him, enveloped in the warmth of our combined feelings. As one, we summoned our shield, and we rested in our safe place. We never would have thought that at that very moment, in a colder, darker, place those thought to be allies were meeting to decide our fates.

* * *

"You are a GODESS!" Wes screamed into my ear as we flew down the road on my bike.

She'd packed an overnight bag and made plans to get the rest of her things the next day before hopping on.

"Just no human sacrifices!" I shouted back. Her laughter was like a firework going off behind me.

When we stopped at Charlie's, we waited outside for a moment to let the color fade from her face and to fix her hair. I found a pair a shades that she could wear.

Then I unlocked the door and sent her in, peaking through to watch Charlie's reaction.

He looked up and the shock registered on his face for a moment before he rolled his eyes.

"Bella, get in here and introduce your friend," he said gruffly, but I could see the amusement on his face.

I laughed and introduced Wes, explaining that she'd got an early flight.

"It's nice to meet you," he told her, " I'm always glad to meet a friend of my girl's. You like sports?"

"Only as much I like breathing!" she enthused "Did you see yesterday's game? That shot in the last ten seconds was sick! Talk about a career maker!"

"It was awesome, wasn't it? Bella, this one's a keeper," he replied. " I ordered pizza, and I'll call you ladies down when it gets here."

I lead her upstairs giving her a tour of the house as we went.

Charlie had pulled a cot out of some closet when he'd agreed to let Wes stayed. It could fold up and go under my bed during the day. We closed the door to my bedroom and I filled her in while we set it up.

"Basically we know what you've told us. I've been having visions of Alexandra, and of other things that I think must be past events but I haven't seen anything that makes me believe with any certainty that she's connected to this," I informed.

"The timing is suspicious, but it's not definitive. Besides, she died in an alcohol related car crash on spring break. It really sucks, but well… there's a reason schools put so much effort into anti-alcohol propaganda around March and April every year," she said, maintaining a flippant tone even as pain unknowable flickered on her face like candle light. "Besides, there's a process for when a Watcher dies, particularly someone's Match."

The cot clicked as the last leg unfolded and I handed her a couple of comforters to use as a mattress until we could get a better one before asking.

"A process?"

"Yeah. There's an investigation, traditionally carried out by the family that they were attached to, but the West has always wanted for bigger numbers and Jamie was… let's just say that he needed everyone who could be spared, so someone else was sent in," she said, stopping and looking directly into my eyes. "Matches are sacred to us. If anyone had found wrong doing involved with Alexandra's death, it would be counted as the worst sort of betrayal not to tell the Stevens family. I don't want to talk about this anymore. We should get some sleep."

I wasn't ready to drop the subject.

"Wait, so you don't think that this has something to do with Alex because… why?"

She looked away, her hair forming a dark curtain, shielding her eyes in a way that was still oddly familiar.

There was a quiet moment. I could hear Charlie as he answered the door. The pizza had arrived.

"Hey girls, foods here!" he shouted.

"Because I don't. Let's go. I'm hungry," she said, before getting up and racing downstairs.

I followed at a more sedate pace, wishing desperately for a way to be sure.

After dinner, we got ready for bed.

I lay in my bed, sending a quick "goodnight" to Jack through the bond before relaxing into sleep.

* * *

Once again my dreams carried me to the old dance studio.

For a long time I stood, bathed in the moonlight that streamed from the high windows. I wanted to approach the reflected archway in the mirror where Alexandra still screamed, ever reacting to the sudden discovery of her ability to create and control fire, but I found myself pulled towards another archway.

The archway showed a seemingly normal street. Cars passed as the night wore on. It was dull and for a long time a wondered why I bothered. Then I saw them.

Alexandra and another girl rode up in cute little green car. Alex was driving and talking casually with the girl in the passenger seat, presumably her cousin, when suddenly another car ran off of the road. It was an old blue car in a model that I couldn't identify and there was a driver and passenger in it.

My heart froze as the blue car struck Alex's.

I turned away. Not wanting to see any more. nearly running into a torn scrap of newspaper in front of my face. It was the article about the accident.

" _Alexandra Abdima, aged 17, died today in an alcohol related automobile accident at around ten yesterday. The accident occurred while she was driving her cousin Carrie Abdima, home from a local club. The other car, a blue Nissan Sentra, ran off of the road and collided with the car. The car's owner Robert Stanley, aged 22, was alone in the vehicle and appears to have died on impact. Carrie Abdima suffered from whiplash and several scratches from broken glass but was otherwise unharmed._

_News of this accident raises several questions regarding…" _

Wait. Alone? Where was the other passenger?

The revelation startled me into wakefulness.

* * *

"Were is he?" I slurred as sat bolt upright in bed.

"Asleep, in bed, like we should be," Wes grumbled back. She shook her head to wake herself up before freezing for a moment and turning back to me. "You saw something? Where is who?"

"I saw Alex's accident," I replied. " I'd rather only retell it once so would you mind waiting until tonight?"

"Yes, I'll mind, but I'll deal," she sighed with mild frustration, "guess I might as well get ready for school. Can I borrow those shades again?"

"Sure, though I guess I should warn you. My Ex might think that you're me and that I've come to my senses."

I was only half joking.

"Edward Cullen? I can take him," she said with a grin, "one wrong look and I can atomize him until you feel up to dealing with him again, or until his family starts to miss him. Are we meeting them today?"

"After school, yes. Charlie won't expect us till later than usual because I usually hang out with Jack for dinner on Fridays," I said smiling.

It'd been a while since I'd spent an afternoon with them.

We finished getting ready for school and loaded into the truck, both of us wearing hats and shades. It was going to be a fun morning.

* * *

Hey guys, I know you Jamie and Leah are probably tapping their toes and sighing in impatience but Wes is about two seconds from levitating Jack over something sharp or atomizing one of our friends if I don't let her tell the next part. My hands are tied. But don't worry, she talks a bit fast, so you'll be back with the people that you actually asked to hear this story from soon. For the record, even if I don't have to tell you anything, I always find myself enjoying it when you give me the chance. Always remember that you asked a question with good intentions, and are being rewarded for that with an answer. That's important.

* * *

Hey guys! We're back with another fairly important chapter. I thought about combining this chapter and the next one but I felt like the lighter stuff next chapter would make some important things in this one less memorable.

Thanks as always for hanging in there with me on this story and I look forward to your opinions of this chapter. Thanks to all Readers, Reviewers, Favorites and Alert people, you hang the moon for me and the people who lurk don't suck either.

Up next: Wes comes in to talk about her first day at Forks high and her introduction to the Cullens.

Don't forget, outtakes go to the top 3 reviewers so even if you're telling me that I need to fix things, I'd like to hear from you. the number of characters that the top 3 will have to choose from is going to increase as we continue, and there are quite a few chapters yet before the end. It's anybody's game!

See you soon (I'm on break and I'm starting the next chapter like tonight so I swear it will be soon),

Plant_Murderer


	14. Wes and School or meeting the

Edward Anthony Mason Cullen is an ass.

He really is.

He's a two middle name having, undoubtedly-unworthy-to-be-called-anything-other-than-an ass. Honestly, I wonder how his dear loving mother managed to cope with that for as long as she did and still ask Carlisle to save him. I'll go further to say that his entire family should receive a congressional medal of honor for every day that they don't walk out of their bedrooms and slap him before promptly reminding him of what an ass he is.

Wait, sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I am Wes. Elizabeth Wesley Alders to be more exact, and more for your entertainment than for any real advancement of the story that Jamie and Leah have been telling you, it is my duty to fill you in on my first day at Forks High.

Incidentally, that's also the day that I met Edward Anthony Mason Cullen (drum roll please) …(no really do the drum roll. I want to hear it.)…(faster) …(perfect) the ass.

* * *

I woke up early that morning after sleeping on a cot with comforters for a mattress. Well...woke up isn't right, more like 'was forced awake by my roomies inability to keep her cryptic end-of-vision ramblings inside her nicely soundproofed head' but hey, I'm not the type to be nitpicky over wording.

I got dressed then watched Izzy go through the aspiring hot chick version of a triathlon to get ready for school (picking the right outfit, a hairstyle that a hat wouldn't kill, and taking the time to consider redoing both). In all fairness she still rated low maintenance in my book but it did take a trice longer than my grab what's clean and make sure that my hair wouldn't eat anyone approach.

In the end we both wore our hair down and standing next to each other in front of the mirror, two of the same face and body structures with differently colored eyes, the effect was surreal.

On the way out to her truck, she stopped by the kitchen to grab a bag of grapes and some bagels.

"It's my turn to bring breakfast. Jack and I usually eat together in the parking lot before classes start. If we get there early enough I could give you a tour of the school," she offered.

"No need. We managed to work our schedules so that I'm in class with you for all but the classes that you have with Jack. For English and Science I'm with Mac. That way you're both safe at any point when you can't be close enough to form your shield," I replied.

"It's not a shield so much as it's a safe place," she corrected.

"Yeah, but shield sounds cooler," I grinned, before walking outside to her truck, ready to get to school and see Mac. Eventually Izzy followed behind and we made slow progress down the road in the awesome, if slightly less than efficient, vehicle.

Mac and Jack were leaning against Jack's car when we got there.

Jack and Izzy immediately exchanged flirting remarks in the corny way that I will not repeat for the sake of my health. They inhabited each others' personal space in a way that was almost unnerving. They were chaste as a pair of nuns in public, just maintaining loose hand contact, but you could see that they were a unit. I could almost imagine their souls touching in the space between them.

Mac and I were different. I didn't feel compelled to touch him, or to be at his side constantly. I just did it out of habit after years of associating with Watchers who lived for the next breath from their partner's mouth. We just smiled at each other briefly before he pulled out his Ipod so that could see the dual headphone jack he'd put in, and plugged in a pair of electric blue headphones next to his red ones. He handed me the earbuds and we settled into the music as I was forced to acknowledge that even if I didn't live for his next breath, the world was always a little too quiet when he wasn't around to share his music.

About ten minutes before school started, when the parking lot started to fill, Izzy took Mac and me to the front office to check in. The woman behind the counter pulled a badly disguised double take when she saw Izzy and me.

I nearly burst out laughing at the look on her face but then Mac whispered across the bond to me about the value of first impressions and I held it in.

"Well, Bella, I didn't know you had a sister," she said, fishing for information.

"It's Izzy Ma'am, and I don't. These are my friends Elizabeth Alders and Michael Phillips. They need to pick up their schedules," she answered diplomatically. The woman looked disappointed but then Mac tensed beside me in a moment of concentration and she mellowed out. There were times when I really loved his power.

Our transcripts were still on the way but they had our schedules logged in so that we could go to class.

"Ok. Now remember to get those signed by each of your teachers and hand them in at the end of the day. I'm sure you'll both fit in wonderfully," she dismissed with a smile. In a moment of charitable thought I figured that not all of her courtesy could be due to Mac's influence and smiled back.

Jack and Izzy walked us to our first class before taking off in the vague direction of their own.

To be perfectly honest, the subject of that first lesson wasn't all that important. It was a high school class and I was sitting next to Mac as I had been in most of the classes we'd had together since we were younger. I answered too many questions and asked twice as many, and Mac sat next to me sending memories over the bond of times when teachers had literally run out of the classroom rather than deal with me, or made me endure weeks of testing for gifted programs because I said the answers that we all knew. Eventually I tired of the lecture and busied myself by imagining silly faces to send across the bond next time Mac was putting on the charm.

When I wasn't doing that, I was cataloging the faces of the students who seemed to stare at us like we couldn't see them.

I wondered how high the body count would be already if they'd stared at some of our classmates from New York that way.

When class ended I was immediately approached.

"Hey, I'm Jessica Stanley. Are you like Bella's cousin or whatever?" a blond girl asked, looking more interested than I'd have thought the situation merited.

"More of an 'or whatever'. We're friends," I explained.

"Ok, and this cutie here must be your boyfriend," she assumed, " you're breaking hearts already."

"We're just friends too," Mac replied, "one can never have too many."

She tilted her head to the side and something in her eyes made me doubt that she believed us. Somehow I found it in me not to care.

"Wes, we have to go or we'll be late," Mac pointed out in a not so subtle save, though I'm not sure which of the two of us he was saving.

Izzy and Jack were waiting outside of the building for us. We traded partners and the day continued in a haze of stares and droning voices.

* * *

Izzy and I were on time for lunch.

We only got there on time because I refused to stop in halls and wait while people pestered us over whether or not I was her hidden twin, or her clone, or the love child of Charlie and Renée's twin siblings, or well… it doesn't bear repeating.

They owe their lives to Mac who sent calming waves of emotion as best he could through the bond like an i.v drip of non-murderous thought.

When we got there, Mac proved his undying fondness for me by removing the IPod, the red IPod that I sometimes joked was a bigger part of his soul than I could ever hope to hold, and letting me listen to it by myself with our headphones tangled into each other like veins and arteries, just the way I liked it.

He coped with temporary IPod withdrawal by keeping busy. He went with Izzy and Jack to grab food for us.

I was immersed in an epic guitar solo when I saw him for the first time.

That ass.

With bronze hair, amber eyes, and a face that more perfect than I'd ever been able to conceptualize, he was beautiful.

He wasn't supposed to be beautiful.

He was supposed to be alien, and cold, and too other, and two much the ex-boyfriend of a new friend and …

Suddenly across the bond I heard Mac whisper, "sorry, Wes, I was projecting. I know my control has been getting better but it's so beautiful. I just want…"

I followed his line of sight. He was looking at the IPod Touch in the hands of the girl in front of him.

"Pull it together! Do you know what you just made me feel? And for whom?" I chided in response.

It had all been in my head. Good.

I took a second look.

He was …still beautiful, I had to admit. He was alien, and just off of normal in a way that was curious, if not near as entrancing as it had been under the influence of Mac's moment of insanity over a musical device. He was also staring at me as though I was both the answer to his prayers and God herself giving him the finger. I rolled my eyes at him and looked away.

Izzy put her tray down next to mine, and the table filled up as Jack and Mac sat down, followed by Ben and Angela who introduced themselves as they sat.

Ben and I got into an argument because he was suffering from the outrageous delusion the Yankees were better than the Red Socks. I set him good and straight about that, don't worry, and it was the most fun I'd had all day.

As lunch came to a close, I picked up my empty tray and Mac's and went to put them in the receptacle. I turned around after doing so, wanting to get back to Mac so that Jack and Izzy could walk us to our next class, and came face to face with Edward Cullen.

"Who are you?" he asked, absolutely perplexed. There was a sort of veiled hope and a hint of desperation in his eyes that made the sardonic remark that had flown to my mouth freeze.

_Not her_, I thought, realizing an instant too late that I might as well have said it out loud to him. Then, not sure of what to do, I fled to the certainty Mac and our new friends and tried pretend that I didn't notice him still standing there as we left the cafeteria.

There was a history class after lunch, and I fell back into my pattern of extraordinary class participation, and Mac went back to his silent mission to preserve the teacher's sanity. The routine helped me shake off that awkward moment from earlier. Then, before I knew it, it was time to go to Gym.

I loved Gym. It was the best class ever invented.

I pulled my hair back, rolled my sleeves up, and got prepared to kick butt and take names …then I was partnered with Izzy and had to maintain a pinch of respect for the fact that volley ball shaped bruises all over her slight frame would not endear me at all to Charlie, the Stevens, the Cullens, or well… her.

All the same, the chance to move after being all but locked in a desk for the better part of the day was very much welcomed, and Izzy was an amazingly good sport about losing so often in such a short amount of time. In return I tried to keep my laughter to a minimum when she talked trash about a rematch.

After class, we changed and went to Izzy's truck to meet the guys. As a joke I made a show of walking over and hugging Jack and ignoring Mac.

"I've seen the light! I can't fight this feeling anymore Jack, run away with me," I deadpanned.

He grinned before schooling his face into something more apologetic seeming.

"I would," he said, shaking his head regretfully, "but my sweetheart might miss me."

"Oh well," I sighed, "Mac has better music anyway."

They all laughed as I danced my way to Mac's side.

When we calmed down, Jack reminded us that we had to go meet the Cullen family.

"Remember," he started, no doubt planning to start some elaborate speech about how we should act, " the Cullens…"

"We're on assignment just being here, Jack," I interrupted, " and we've been Watchers for longer, so we know how to deal with allies. Besides, as the liaison between us and the Cullens and our chief point of contact with the Volturi, it would fall to Izzy to fill us in anyway."

"She's right," Mac said in support.

"He was introducing the topic. They function as a family. Carlisle tends to take point on their decisions and acts as a father. Esme is his wife and the sweetest woman in the world. Emmet's a big, competitive teddy bear, and acts as an older brother. Rosalie likes cars and shopping and is married to Emmet. Jasper is an empath, a classic southern gentleman, and Alice's husband. Alice sees the results of decisions, and is one of my best friends. Edward is a mind reader and a pianist, and my ex-boyfriend," she summed up. "They were my family once, and they are important allies to us all now, so if you hurt them without cause there will be problems."

"Don't worry," Mac soothed, "I've been looking forward to meeting them. Jack, can Wes and I borrow your car for the ride over?"

Jack consented, happy to have the excuse to ride in Izzy's truck, and I got settled into the passenger side of his car.

As we followed Izzy out of the parking lot, Mac sent weak waves of calm over me using his power before asking, "Anything we need to talk about?"

"Try not to project your love for whatever sound system set-up they have too strongly, ok? That thing at lunch was strange," I requested.

"You got it, but that doesn't explain why you're so quiet. Come on Wes. I'm half of your soul. Don't think that I don't know your heart," he scolded.

"It's nothing, or it will be. I just saw something strange is all. Maybe Izzy's lack of skill at volleyball is depressing," I grumbled.

"Was she that bad?" he asked. The conversation continued from there and I told him about the parts of my day that he wasn't present for, relaxing into his presence and feeling more myself by the time we came to a stop in front of the Cullens' house.

Mac and I fell into step behind Izzy and Jack as they approached the front door. She raised hand to knock but the door opened before she got the chance.

A petite and pale woman with eyes like honey stood smiling on the other side.

"Izzy!" she enthused, hugging her. "It's been days! Come on in, all of you!"

Izzy led us in while the pixie like figure danced back in and fell into place beside a beautiful dark haired young seeming man.

An older man and woman stepped forward and Izzy began with the introductions.

"Hello everyone, our two new friends and fellow Watchers here are Wes Alders and Mac Phillips. Would you lot care to make your own introductions? There are kind of a lot of you."

"We're one short," Edward Cullen murmured. He'd been sitting silently on the stairs, and I hadn't noticed him till he'd spoken. Though part of me could almost feel his eyes once I knew he was there.

"Behave yourself, dear," the woman murmured in response, before addressing us. " I'm Esme and this is my husband, Carlisle. You'll have heard of Edward, I suppose."

"It's nice to meet you both," Mac answered, " and, to be honest, we've heard of all of you. Edward, I'm a bit of an audiophile, and I hear you're a musician. It might be nice to talk shop with someone with a real ear for it."

Edward looked surprised at being addressed directly and in a non hostile manner from one of Izzy's friends but he brushed it off saying, "I might like that."

I took the lead on the next set.

"You must be Emmett and Rosalie," I said approaching the pair.

"How'd you guess," Rose replied, sarcastically.

"Don't mind her, It's nice to meet you. Play any sports?" he asked.

"Depends, do you cry when you lose?" I shot back, grinning.

"Behave yourself, Wes," Mac said, walking up behind me, "why don't we meet the infamous Alice and Jasper?"

I walked over to them. There was something sobering at the edges of Alice's expression.

"Hello, Wes, you…You look very familiar. Thank you for the bracelet by the way." she said gesturing to her wrist.

She was wearing a diamond bracelet and on impulse I used my power to break it into a thousand small pieces and reform it so that it floated above my hand, whole and perfect. I'd considered how to introduce my talent to allies in the days before we'd come to Forks and she was giving me a hint. She'd said thank you, so I disconnected the largest stone from the bracelet and I reshaped it into flower, so delicate and clear that a master couldn't have crafted it better, and then I reconnected it to the bracelet and floated it back onto her wrist.

"You're welcome," I replied.

"That was impressive," Jasper said with a small smile. I felt a sudden rush of energy.

"Mac, stop it, it'll make me more tired later. You know that." I scolded, turning to look at him.

"It wasn't me," he said raising his hands.

"oh," I said looking towards Jasper, " Thank you very much, you didn't have to."

Alice laughed at that, and Emmett walked over.

"That was sweet! Hey, I bet I can lift more with my arms than you can then you can with your head," he challenged.

"You're on!" I replied and I followed him outside. Jasper volunteered to get the weights and Edward just stayed towards the back of the group, watching in an almost bemused fashion.

* * *

We ended up calling it a draw when neither of us seemed tired after lifting all of the weights, a couple of boulders and Izzy's truck.

Emmett made plans to catch me on an off day, and went off to play a video game with Jack and the group split off into smaller sections, Mac wandering off with Jasper and Izzy getting pulled off to look at something in Alice and Jasper's room. I went inside and sat down on the bench in front of the piano in the front room, tired after the mental strain of using my power so much in a short time.

My mother played the piano, and the reminder of her helped to rest my mind as I took a moment to recharge. The keys were soft and I regretted, momentarily that I'd never been fond enough of stillness to take music lessons.

"Do you play," a soft voice came from too close and, startled I reflexively levitated the person up and back a few feet before looking up to see who it was.

Edward.

"Several sports, yes, but I don't play the piano," I replied, "though I'm told that you do. You're also known to play with hearts and people's right to privacy."

He looked like I'd slapped him, but replied, " I never toyed with Bella. If anything, she… it's a long story, and I'd tell you if you'd let me down, please."

"I would, but you'd never learn that way," I sighed regretfully as I turned back to looking at the keys of the piano, " I'd hate to deprive you of a lesson in personal space." Besides, he looked wonderful from that angle, the sunlight hitting his hair just right. I heard him snort amusedly at that and then focused on holding a mental silence.

"You must be tired though, from all the fuss with Emmett. Really Bella, you shouldn't-"

"I'm not Bella, and she isn't either these days," I corrected forcefully, lifting myself so that I could look him in the eyes without putting him down. "No matter who I look like, my name is Elizabeth Wesley Alders. Get it straight and get it now. I am Wes. And you know what? I think I _will_ put you down now. If anyone needs to move on, it's you."

I set us both onto the ground and stormed off to watch Jack get beat at the video game that he and Emmett were playing. Across the room Mac and Jasper were talking and Izzy was settled in with Rose and Alice looking through magazines. For a moment I stood, unsure of where I fit in the scene. Then Mac pulled out his IPod, dual head phone jack in place and scooted over so that we could share his chair, and I knew where I belonged.

As I sat, I felt eyes on me and without bothering to glance around I knew who it was.

"Do you want something, or am I just the prettiest thing here?" I thought. Then I stood and walked out into the back yard where he'd been standing and watching from a distance.

"It shouldn't be possible," he said staring at me strangely, almost unseeing. "You're perfect. You're just like…. Alice saw! She was going to come to her senses, she was going to put this nonsense behind her and…What are you?"

"Stop being emo and finish a sentence. Some of us don't read minds. What do you mean 'Alice saw'?"

"It doesn't matter. I don't understand, but I will. I need to think," he said, and then he disappeared, running too quickly for my eyes to see.

The emo little ass hadn't answered me.

I walked inside and approached Izzy.

"So you really weren't exaggerating about him," I conceded, smiling in thanks as Alice handed me a new issue of Sports Illustrated. She held out her hand and I reached into my pocket and gave her a dollar, fulfilling my end of a bet we'd made earlier in the week.

Soon enough it was time to leave and go to the Steven's house. The Cullen family waved us off with plans to return soon, and once again Mac and I found ourselves in Jack's rust bucket.

"Is there something going on between you and Edward?" he asked. "Jasper said that you were having an interesting conversation, but he's too polite to help me eavesdrop and I was too polite to ask."

"Jealous? I was just setting the record straight. The ass was a little confused about whom he was speaking to," I replied, smiling slightly.

"Just…know that there would be consequences if he were damaged irreparably, and not just for us," Mac cautioned.

"Don't worry Mac, I wouldn't leave him broken. He's an ass, but that doesn't mean he's not nice to look at. If he were a very large paperweight he'd be perfect," I grinned.

"Do the world a favor and resist the urge to make him one. What you did with the bracelet was stunning though." He replied. "Do you miss New York yet?"

"I miss little parts; the noise, the night air, Friday nights when we could practice our joint power and go all over the city, and go, and go, and go. No stopping and so many people than no one noticed if I walked a few inches off the ground, the sound of mom's playing; it's home. Of course I miss it. Don't you?" I asked, shaking my head to clear the homesickness.

"I miss concerts and drummers on street corners, but I have recordings and I have you, so I'll live," he said, smiling softly. "We could pop home tonight if you're up too it after we spend time with everyone. You could check in on your mom, even if you couldn't let her see you. We could visit my parents or my uncle."

His offer warmed something in me. He was my best friend and he took care of me and I could count myself lucky if all I ever did was meditate on the roof my apartment building with him for a thousand nights in the city that we loved. That said, we were here for a reason, and leaving the Stevens without back up for a night was not going to happen.

"Maybe in a couple of weeks," I replied, "I'll let you know if I feel like it."

"You always do. And if you need to get off the ground, piggy back rides are half off this week. Even if they are immature and undignified," he replied.

I thought about Mac with his nerd chic look all mussed and the brilliant red IPod that would forever remind me of his heart tucked safe into the zip up pocket in his jacket as he carried me on his back. It was a good thought. I laughed, loud and full as we rode towards the Stevens' home where Izzy would tell finally tell us about the vision that had woke us up hours and a lifetime earlier.

Now its Jamie's turn so I'll hang up and he can start at his leisure, but don't get stress, if you need to know something and they don't have the best angle I'm one little call away.

And just because it bears repeating: Edward Anthony Mason Cullen is…well, you know.

* * *

Here it is! A second update within a week, and no you're not dreaming. I might be, but you're not.

Next up: Jamie's foundations are rocked by at least two of our favorite women and the story continues forward.

Thanks to all the readers and reviewers and a special thanks goes to Myth a friend of mine who helped me bunches in developing Wes. I will reply to each review that I got for last chapter soon and I look forward to hearing what you think of this one, please don't think that my slow replies mean that I don't value and look forward to your opinions.

If anyone really wants to know I'll start the tallies and try to post the current top three reviewers' screen names in the next chapter.

See you next chapter, P_M


	15. Jamie and starts or replays

Hey, you survived meeting Wes and you don't even look slightly terrorized! Count yourself among the proud few. She's a real force of nature, you know.

Moving on, just in case you've gotten turned around, I'm going to start on the morning after I found out that Leah was my Match, Wes and Mac's first day at school, and my first day at home.

* * *

I started the day as I usually did, rising at dawn, grabbing my keys, and wandering around the house checking to see that Jack and Mac were safe their respective beds before going on my run.

It was cold and the wind seemed to cut through me as I ran, but I didn't mind. It helped to wake me up, and to clear my head.

Later that day I was going to get to talk to Leah, really talk, for the first time since she'd learned the truth of our shared soul.

I thought back to that night on the bleachers at my high school's track when Alex and I had had a similar moment. We'd been dating for months then, so it was easy to know what to say and who did what. She reached out to me. I listed off our doubts and she made them vanish; building cardboard castles with words of promise and certainty. They were only words but they'd mattered so much.

She'd lit a small fire and held it in the palm of her hands, and I'd marveled at how much life there was around us. In later days I'd think about a future that would never materialize. I'd imagine proposing, starting a life and one day feeling a new life spark into being, like the first strains of a melody. That night though, that had been a time to stand united together in the knowledge that we were one and meant for each other.

As my route turned back towards home it occurred to me that I had no experience in forming a match bond that wasn't grounded in romantic love. Kisses and touches were as much a part of my memories of that time as studying the unseen book and meditating. Love, pure and sweet and good was as much a part of my experience of the Match bond as anything.

I needed advice, I decided as I sprinted the last seconds of my run, and I knew who to ask.

* * *

Mac was sitting at the kitchen counter when I found him after I'd taken a quick shower.

I sat down next to him, nodding in greeting and wondering how to broach the subject.

"Jamie, just ask," he murmured, rubbing tiredly at his eyes, "it's early and my iPod isn't done charging yet."

"A Match without love… is there anything I should know? I mean…I'm not implying that you don't love her but without romantic love…I'm botching this badly," I fumbled as my head found its way into my hands.

"Yes, my friend, you really are. I don't speak for all Watchers, I can't, but with Wes… it's like coming home when I see her. I want to touch her, but because I like having her close enough that it's an option. We've been friends since we were young and that comes with feelings too. I know her better than anyone, better than her mother even sometimes. I see her most clearly of anyone, and if I spent the rest of my life just being that guy with the iPod who takes her places, I'm good. That said, I guess I can't help you much because clearly I love my Match even if it I don't want to sleep with her," he replied, casually in a way that made me wonder if he'd given that speech before.

"Well when you put it that way…."

"Jamie, she's half your soul. I daresay you'll find something to talk about. If you need me to calm you down so that you can work, I can do that. Would it help?" he asked, smiling softly. I couldn't begrudge him his amusement. I knew how I sounded.

"If you wouldn't mind," I answered gratefully.

A moment later I felt calm ease its way through me in soft waves. Not all at once but nice and soothing, like a lullaby.

"Thanks. Now get out of here before you put me to sleep," I grinned.

He stood and went back to his room to finish getting ready and a moment later I went to my own room and pulled out a thick text book. If I was going to wait for Leah's school day to end, I might as well get some school work of my own done.

Outside of my room my parents went about their day as usual. My father paced back and forth in his study, working on the book that he was writing about La Push and the history of the tribe there. My mother accepted phone calls from Watchers while puttering around the house.

At around one, my mother called me out to have lunch.

"Love, come sit with me. You've been back for nearly a day and not spent time with me. Frankly, I feel neglected," she said grinning and beckoning me to a seat at the table and a plate with a sandwich and a glass of juice.

"Sorry Mom, but you know how it's been. If it helps, you've got all of my attention right now," I replied, sitting down.

For a moment all we did was eat. When we'd finished our sandwiches, I let my left arm rest on the table. The scars were faded but they were still there, a record of what I'd tried to do in my grief. She traced them, lovingly in a way that was as startling then as it had been when the wounds were fresh.

"It shouldn't be," she murmured, guessing at my thoughts, "the scars now, the bandages and scabs before, are reminders that you failed. It's my right as your mother to love every part of you, broken or not. Will she?"

"Leah? I don't know. I don't even know what I'll do when I see her today," I admitted. "Any hints?"

"Something important has happened today, though I don't know where or to whom," she said, unhelpfully. " Just… try and remember that this is her first time through it all. Every Match is different, so it may as well be yours too. Be patient, and don't make her kill you. That would upset me and your brother and company would have to avenge you."

"Got it mom," I answered, leaning back into the chair and relaxing.

"So, how was Seattle when you left? Has your roommate forgiven you at all?"

From there the conversation continued to lighter subjects until it was time for me to go. After Izzy and Wes had left, I'd unpacked the stuff from my car, so I got in and started the long drive to First Beach. I felt anxious and open. She could say 'no' and split my soul at any given point.

I knew, intellectually that she likely wouldn't, not without talking to me first but… how much damage could a soul sustain? If this didn't work out… I couldn't think about it.

She was waiting at the edge of the water when I found her.

"You're late, Eye-drop Fetcher," she tossed over her shoulder, as she paced a few more steps along the waterline before turning around. Her dark hair caught on the wind as she turned and her eyes caught the grey muted sunlight in a way that that made my brain falter.

"You're beautiful," I blurted, then tried to save face, "and early, which is good. You know, now that you're around, I'm not an eye-drop fetcher anymore. Too bad you're still a-"

"A bitch?" she interrupted, not seeming particularly insulted just curious.

"My mother taught me better manners than that. I was thinking more along the lines of a 'puppy'."

I took a step towards her and she turned towards the water, wading in the shallowest part of the surf as if she meant to circle me.

"'Bitch' would have been less of an insult," she replied darkly, "I'm not a child. Physically, I'm almost older than you."

Like playing Russian roulette with a missile launcher; I remembered.

"You're right, I'm sorry," I conceded.

She gave me an odd look before the dark look swept back onto her face. Her body was tense and suddenly I was aware of the power of her human form, which seemed almost as lethal as the gigantic wolf that lay beneath. She took a step towards me and I mirrored her earlier motion stepping towards her as though following the line of a circle.

"Sorry is right. You poor thing, getting matched with a puppy, too much of a child to be trusted with her own assessment of her well being; you can't believe that I am not going to faint or run from this," she spat. Then she crossed the space between us before hissing, "Oh please, grown-up, educated, middle class, white man, tell me how I should feel right now."

"Leah, I'm sorry. I don't know how I've managed to offend you but I apologize-"

"Don't agree with me out of fear!" her voice was lighter now, and she backed up, "If I want minions I will find them, but we're supposed to be like partners right?"

I was confused. Reflexively, my mind reached across the bond as I struggled to understand what she was feeling. There was exasperation, irritation, and a little amusement. There was no real anger. I took a step back.

"Yes… wait…what?" I stammered. "You aren't mad?"

"Let's get this straight from the start. I am not your abusive boyfriend, so feel free to disagree or even yell back on occasion," she replied, letting the frustration and amusement into her voice. "Really, Eye-drop Fetcher, show a little spine. I couldn't hurt you if I wanted to, Sam's orders, so work with me."

Seeing what she'd been doing, and realizing that she'd played me, I rolled my eyes as I nodded.

"So, you're really ok with all of this?" I asked.

"Yes, Jamie, I am. So, what do we do first?" she asked sensibly.

I sat down on the sand, feeling tired and off balanced.

"We could work on figuring out your Match power, meditate, or find you a psychiatrist. Really there are less psychotic ways of telling me to be less passive," I sighed.

"Very funny, were you this charming with Her?" she asked.

"I tried to be. She was my girlfriend, all the parts my heart that mattered," I sighed. "Have you noticed anything odd happening lately? Something that might hint at your power?"

"Nothing stands out; a few absent minded moments, but then, who doesn't have those," she shrugged.

For a while we just sat there watching the waves and sea gulls. Well, she watched them; I watched her.

She'd looked so relaxed all afternoon, and with the tension gone from her face… there really is no other way to say it. She was beautiful. I stared for so long that I almost didn't notice when a few strands of her hair moved of their own accord and, gradually formed themselves into a delicate white feather with a black tip.

"Leah!" I said, jumping as I realized what I'd seen.

"What?" she asked loudly. I'd startled her.

I opened my mouth to answer her when I was interrupted by my cell phone going off.

"Remember what you were just thinking about, it's going to be important later," I rushed out as I answered.

"Jamie Stevens, Watcher of Western North America," I listed off into the phone.

"Michael Phillips, Watcher of Eastern North America who suggests that you check your caller id to save time," Mac replied, "are the two of you still at the beach? Izzy has seen something and needs to report."

"Yes, you're going to pop over with them?" I asked.

"If you'd be fine with it, Jack says that they wouldn't have to notify the elders unless your parents are coming."

"See you in about a minute," I answered, hanging up.

"Do you always answer the phone like that," Leah asked.

"Only when I know it's a Watcher. No one else who might call me is currently speaking to me, so I felt it was a safe bet. I bothered a few people with my sudden departure from school," I admitted.

There was a moment's silence as we waited for my brother and his Match and friends to find us. when they did, we sat in a circle with Jack and Izzy on opposing sides. Their eyes locked for a moment as they entered meditation enough to use their joint power and create a safe place to talk, a force-field to hold our words secret from anyone who might pass by.

When they were sure that that could speak without breaking it, Izzy started. She was sitting on my left side, and she reached over to take my hand before speaking.

"You'll all remember that I've been having visions of Alex. I saw her find her power, and the newspaper article about her death. Last night, or early this morning I saw her accident," she said, gripping my hand but refusing to look at me. "Most of us will remember that she died on impact when a car hit hers. The newspaper article says that the car that hit hers had one passenger who also died on impact."

I closed my eyes, trying to block out the memory of that moment when her life force had left the earth and the bond had broken in a haze of agony that had me screaming.

"We got it Izzy," Wes said in a way spoke of consequences only because of who was speaking. "You saw her accident. We all know what happened, and Leah would have been told soon enough."

I opened my eyes, looking down at the scars, pale white against the tan that never seemed to fade from my skin.

"But you don't know," Izzy pressed. "The newspaper article was wrong. There was a second passenger and whoever it was disappeared just before impact."

"What?" I breathed; my throat had gone thick with the pain of remembering.

I looked around our small circle. Everyone except Leah had gone strangely pale.

"We'd have known, though. Even if the paper got it wrong we'd have known," I said, denial cutting wounds through my tone, "Carrie would have said, or the Watcher who looked at the accident would have seen it in the traffic footage."

"My uncle led the investigation," Mac said, quietly, "my parents helped. Why would they lie about it?"

"Look, I don't know any of that but there was a humanoid figure in the passenger's seat before the car crashed, but no evidence of one later. I saw what happened, and interrogating me won't change it," she said, irritation touching her voice.

"For those of us who missed 'part 1' of this episode…" Leah said, confused.

"We've known since before we dealt with Victoria that the Watchers haven't been fully honest in regards to their motives for taking action against the Volturi," I explained, " Izzy has been hoping to see something that would give us a hint but all she's been seeing are a series of connected visions that don't make sense. She saw Alex, her accident and a dark room with people whispering. Carrie was Alex's cousin; she was in the passenger seat during the accident and walked away from it fine. I'll fill you in more thoroughly later."

There was a long quiet moment before Mac asked, "So the passenger was a teleporter?"

"Or just someone who moves too fast for Izzy's eyes," Jack suggested.

"And how do we know that he wasn't just someone in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Wes added.

"Could it have been a Watcher?" Leah asked.

"No," I answered. "Any Watcher who was in the area would have been announced to my parents. A regular Matched person's power wouldn't have gotten strong enough. I need to talk to Carrie. A firsthand account would be a good starting point."

"Do you have her number?" Jack asked.

"If it's the same one she passed to me through you at the funeral. I'll let you know if I need it looked up," I sighed.

I looked off down the beach. It was starting to get dark.

"We should stop for now. It's getting late," I suggested. There were murmurs of agreement and we parted ways. I offered Leah a ride home, and when we got to her house I stopped the car.

"Wait," I said as she opened the passenger side door, " you'll be getting your own as soon as they finish printing it, but I want you to borrow this."

I pulled my copy of the Unseen book from a bag in the backseat. "focus on the parts involving protocol or history first, then the sections on shape-shifters and vampires," I suggested as I handed it to her. " oh! And earlier I saw a strand of your hair become a feather. Try and figure out how you did that if you can. We can talk tomorrow after the meeting with the pack, if you wouldn't mind. Or later tonight through the bond."

"Sounds like extra homework," she said, reaching up to touch the feather that was still in her hair tangled in on the left side near the back of her head. "We'll talk."

I watched her to make sure that she got into the house ok before turning and driving back towards home. I was half way there when I heard something that startled me.

"Jamie," Leah's voice sounded as though she were next to me as she spoke across the bond.

"Yeah," I replied.

"You really loved her, didn't you?" she asked carefully.

"I do. She was my heart, and now…"

"Now what? Does it still beat where she is? It feels like you're still bleeding sometimes, doesn't it? like every beat of your heart just kills you that much more."

She sounded sad, familiar.

"Spoken like someone who knows," I replied.

"I can't really, not exactly, but I've known loss," she confided, "and I know that by getting away from my personal hell, I'm reminding you of yours. Life's a bitch, but last I remember, talking made it less of one not too long ago."

"So we'll talk," I told her, and then I made myself focus on the road ahead, and tried hard keep my eyes on the literal one.

* * *

So here's the chapter. Thank you all for reading and reviewing and I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

Next up: Leah returns and talks about the meeting with the pack and other things.

I still haven't written out the tally so I don't know which reviewers are in the top 3, I'll do the math soon though, and I'll get back to you.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing!


	16. Leah and Identity or Freedom

Feathers.

There were three of them lined up on a neat row in front of me on my bed as I tried to remember thoughts, feelings, and anything else that might help me to make some sense the fact that my Match power apparently involved feathers.

What the hell.

"So we'll talk," he'd said. Well apparently he hadn't meant that night, because further mental entreaties had gone unanswered. In all fairness I knew he was probably driving and wanted to concentrate, but damn.

Feathers.

I'd been thinking about the birds that flew over the water, wondering how it would feel to be one of them, and if it hurt them to hit the water they flew into it, if the fish died happily having finally felt the unfiltered light of the sun. Jamie was sitting behind me, and even when he hadn't liked me he'd called me beautiful. I had no illusions about my appearance. I'd felt the stares for years. Would they, would he still stare if I'd been born a sea gull?

I'd sprouted feathers. Feathers that stung when pulled.

In class a year before I'd heard that Romeo had said "I would I were thy bird" wanting to be Juliet's pet if it meant that he could stay with her. Would I be a bird? A shape shifter of a different kind?

I reached for the book that Jamie had given me but before I could open it, mom knocked on the door.

"Come in," I said, and the door opened.

"Anything new with all of this 'watcher' business?" she asked after closing the door.

"I don't know. I might have figured out what my special ability is, but I don't know…anything. I don't even know which group I should stand with tomorrow," I told her, frustrated.

"Then stand with me. Watcher or not, pack or not, you're my daughter. You'll find where you fit with everyone else in time," she soothed, "I'll leave you to your thoughts."

When she left I moved the feathers from my bed to the small table beside it and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning I was startled awake, only to find Mac and Wes sitting at the foot of my bed.

"What the hell?" I grumbled.

"Izzy is on the phone with Aro, head of the Volturi. Grab some clothes and you can change in my room as soon as the conversation ends," Mac whispered.

I rushed out of bed and grabbed a t-shirt and jeans, shoving them into a bag before grabbing the hands that the held out.

I felt the cool rush of the air that was displaced as we popped into being in the hallway, feet away from the door that led to Mr. Stevens's study. We rushed in and found places on the floor or the couch listening as the conversation played out.

"Oh, but surely there must be something we could grant you," a cheerful male voice with an Italian accent proclaimed. "I understand that your organization has its resources but what's an alliance without bonds of goodwill? Even the chance to share knowledge with you would give us such delight."

"Of that I've no doubt," Izzy replied, " and that delight would be mutual. I must, though, inquire as to what you would like in return."

There was a pause.

"Shall we say, recruitment opportunities? You know I've a fondness for those of rare talent. Perhaps you'd allow me and mine the chance to offer a few Watchers a place with us," the man answered humbly.

"Knowledge in exchange for lives?" Izzy asked.

"Yes, Isabella, eternal ones, and full of experiences far great than anything you could comprehend. Ask our mutual friends if you are uncertain of that," he replied certainly, "we would, of course not require that any actually make the change. If no one is willing then you lose nothing."

Izzy looked over to Mrs. Stevens, who shook her head.

"I'll bring it before the heads and inform you of our choice as soon as we've made it," she told him.

"Very well," he conceded, in the background a female voice proclaimed it time to eat. "I'm afraid I must go, though I do hope that you'll give my regards to Carlisle's family, and to that charming young man of yours."

"I will and happily, farewell."

"And you, Isabella," he replied. Then the line went dead and there was a quiet moment.

"Good morning Leah," Jamie said after a while. He was leaning against a bookshelf and wearing shorts and a t-shirt, "you can change in my room if you'd like."

"Thanks, where is it?"

"Second door on the left," he said, reaching down for my hand. I ignored his hand, getting up on my own and walking to his room to change.

When I got back to the study, Izzy was sitting behind Mr. Steven's desk with a laptop. Jamie was sitting leaning on the wall behind her making occasional comments about something that she was typing.

"Ok, so I can send it now?" she asked after the last of his corrections.

"Please do."

"What are you sending," I asked.

"The report on the call, to all watchers not present. By the way I'll need your e-mail address and phone number eventually."

"I'll write it down for you later. Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"My mother is making breakfast and my Father is helping. Jack and the others are waiting for us in Mac's room. We need to talk now that we've had a chance to sleep on it. We need to know what happened to Alex," Jamie replied. His face darkened has he spoke about his late Match.

I thought about that time when Sam had been missing. I understood his pain.

"Then let's get moving," I suggested, leading the way to Mac's room.

Izzy sat next to Jack on the small sofa and Mac and Wes took the bed. Jamie and I leaned on the wall to the left and right of the door as we talked.

"Any new visions," Jack prompted.

"No new ones but I saw her accident again," Izzy reported. " I still can't see where the other passenger went. He or she was a full sized human figure though, if that helps. Jamie, have you spoken to her cousin?"

"No, she didn't answer when I called. I'll try again tomorrow. Anybody come up with any ideas for what it could be?"

"It was full sized so not a pixie, or a dwarf," Mac concluded, "but it could be something else supernatural, like a vengeful spirit or a higher order shape-shifter."

"Or if we're thinking about speedy things, Vampires?" Wes added.

"Why would a cold one want Alex dead? And better yet, why not just eat her?" I asked.

"Alex's match power made her dangerous to them, a human who could destroy them with a thought. Which one wouldn't want her dead?" Jack pointed out, "but then there are other supernatural things that dislike fire."

"Wait," Mac said a moment later, "how do we even know that this was about Alex? The driver of the vehicle was killed in the crash too. Maybe it was just bad luck."

"It wasn't," Mrs. Stevens said through the door, startling us all. "Whatever you just said, suggested, or proposed 'wasn't'. Now come out for breakfast. We need to review protocol for today and re-assign some duties."

For a moment we just stared at each other, and then an almost visible light bulb went off in my mind.

"Hold on," I said, "who would even know about her power?"

"Guys you heard your mother and or acting co-head of all Watchers currently in residence. Get in here for breakfast," Mr. Stevens called from down the hall.

"We never had the chance to act," Jamie breathed, looking suddenly pale. "We only ever announced our abilities to the Watchers."

I looked around, unsure as to how I should be feeling and thrown off by how disturbed he, and everyone else in the room for that matter, looked. There was a leak in their organization. Our organization. His…? My…? There was a leak in the Watchers; one that might extend to any number of kinds of individuals.

"We should get going," Mac announced, decidedly. "There's nothing that we can do about this now that we haven't already and the last thing we need is to keep them waiting longer than they have."

Wes nodded and led us out of the room. As we walked down the hall I found myself saying what we all knew to be true.

"Welcome back to square one."

* * *

We ate breakfast on various locations scattered around the kitchen because the table was too small, and when we'd all eaten our fill Mrs. Stevens stood and addressed us.

"Izzy," she said, "you've been acting as second liaison with the pack since the alliance formed, and while you've performed well-"

"We feel that since we now have another, more qualified choice for that position," Mr. Steven continued, "You could let Leah take your position in that capacity and focus on the vampires and the side project of which we have no knowledge whatsoever not at all".

His eyebrow rose as he finished.

"Leah," Ms. Stevens added, " once you and Jamie have gotten farther along in your training you will take charge of the liaison position but right now we need style more than substance."

"Hey!" Jack responded, playing offended.

"Hush, Nimble, we've got a lot to cover."

She went on to describe the plan for the day, including what I was allowed to tell the pack (very little) and fact that due to the need for training there would probably be no time for us to and I quote " talk about the things of which we have no knowledge however much we wish we did and however anxious that makes us".

The elder Stevens patented insanity.

* * *

Some teleporting, a couple of cars, and a motorcycle later, we stood the beach in a near straight line, subdivided into matched pairs and ordered so that Jack and I were in the middle and standing next to both each other and our Matches. Jamie squeezed my hand but I pulled away. Comfort wasn't what I needed then.

The elders approached from the direction of the tribe, flanked on each side by several pack members in wolf form. Sam led the group in human form so that when they came to a stop, he stood with the elders.

His eyes immediately landed on me. I stepped forward from the line.

"Leah, get over here. What are you doing?" he groused.

"I'm standing here on a beach waiting for this meeting to start, same as you," I replied.

"Leah-"

"Clearly," Mr. Stevens, "We have a lot to discuss. The first of which is that Leah has chosen to work with us, and to become a Watcher."

The elders immediately began to whisper amongst themselves as several wolves ran off to phase back while others bared their teeth at the Watchers and I. Sam looked angry and shocked. Jack stepped forward to try and control the tension.

"Calm down everyone. First you should know that it was never our intention to recruit anyone," he asserted.

Sam shrugged off his words.

"I don't want to hear from you," he growled angrily, " Leah, What is this about? Revenge?"

"It's not all about you, Sam," I snapped back. "There are a lot of things that I can't explain about this. All you need to know is that I am making the best choice I can now. Do you hear that? A choice. Not that you'd understand what it is to want one for yourself."

Sam looked I'd hit him for a second before shooting back at me.

"What would your father think of this?"

"What would he think about me being tied forever to an asshat who uses him against me at the first opportunity," I said, feeling the shaking and powerful rage starting grow within me.

"Should have known you'd turn your back on us," another wolf yelled as those who'd gone to phase came back, " You're no better than a snake."

I felt my mind drift away as rage enveloped me. I must have been visibly shaking because I could hear voices trying to call me down.

Bitch, snake, shrew, they called me. I wanted to show them. I was a wolf, not a shrew to annoy them; not a snake to nip at their heels. Not a Snake…

I felt my body shift as I lost control of my form; becoming, I realized, not a the gigantic wolf that I was so used to but something else.

I felt myself take flight before I realized that I had wings. Everything looked and felt different. My Eyes were sharper and everything seem too much in focus.

"Witch," someone on the ground spat, and in the next moment I felt my talons tear flesh and smelled blood. The air whipped around my wings and the predator in me felt the immediate drive to swoop back down and…

And what? Kill him? I didn't know or care.

_Yes you do, Beautiful,_ Jamie's voice said in my mind. his mental voice seeming tired enough that I could tell he'd been calling since I'd taken flight _. Come back to yourself and we'll handle this but if you let your anger rule you, you'll start a war that they can't win. _

Come back to myself, I thought. Who was I? Not a shrew. I knew that. Not a snake.

I swooped low and took a form that felt more familiar.

Without the intensity of my former rage blinding me, the change felt different this time and I felt more. Hollow bones became full, feathers separated into fur, wings became paws.

I was a wolf; a real wolf not the gigantic half bear seeming creature that I realized with a sudden sad shock I could never be again. I growled at Sam and the others. they didn't smell right, or I didn't. Not natural wolves. Not natural at all.

Jamie sent me a mental picture of myself as I contemplated attacking a foolish one near the back who called me a bitch.

I was not only a wolf.

The last change was the slowest. Humans are dull and slow and complicated and I'd been a human for so long that I wasn't as excited about returning to that form. Eventually I did though, noting with fascination and relief that my clothes were still on.

There was silence and I broke it, claiming the moment for myself, for my defense.

" I am not a traitor to the pack or to my people. I don't have to be one of you to protect anyone," I said firmly, "The choice is made and it was mine to make. We will talk. I am training to become the liaison between you and them. I will not be your enemy unless you make me one. Are we clear?"

I felt strange as I stared down the elders and The pack.

These were the people I respected. I'd gone to school with them, been scolded by them, played with their children and grandchildren.

Now I was separate from them. I felt vaguely lost as I glanced down towards my hands and felt my hair against my back and shoulders. How could I be separate and still share their blood? I was tied to the Watchers by my soul and to the elders by my culture and my blood. Would that mean nothing to them?

I tried to listen to them but they spoke in a language that I'd only learned random words of in primary school.

As they whispered amongst themselves, Sam and the pack divided their time between seeing to the boy whose arm I'd slashed in when I'd been a…. what had I been? I asked Jamie with my mind.

_You were a hawk. I don't know what kind, _he answered. _Impressive though._

_Thanks_, I said before returning my attention to the wider world. He stepped closer joining me in the space between those representing my tribe, and this group who'd given me my life back.

"You are beautiful," he said. The words still sounded as though they'd been pulled from his mouth, and that and the sadness in Sam's eyes made me believe it, and feel the warmth of that knowledge in a way that years of leers and the disgusting dreams of my packmates had stolen.

"Thanks for that too."

A moment later the elders addressed me.

"We understand that you've made a choice, and we will not make you an enemy," Old Quil said decidedly, "Never forget that you have ever been one of us, and will always have the protection of this council and carry the hopes of your tribe."

"I won't, sir," I murmured in deference to his position in the society of my birth, and not because Sam had made an accidental order as he scolded me for my behavior. I looked at my mother and the pride in her eyes, the love, made me feel like a single whole person again. "I won't forget."

After that the meeting went as planned. Mac and Wes were introduced and the adults mingled.

As Jack introduced the individual pack members to the new pair and Izzy and Jamie talked to Jacob, Sam approached me.

I was sitting on the sand, facing the ocean.

"Are you happy?" he asked, sounding tired.

"I don't know yet," I replied, "I'm happier than I was last week."

"Then I guess I owe it you not to hate you for that," he sighed.

"Why?" I laughed bitterly, " I hated you. I hated Emily, and still do sometimes. I hated everyone. This doesn't make anything go away."

"Shouldn't it?" he asked. He glanced towards my face and I saw the muted remains of his once all consuming love for me, "you're free now."

" I hated you before I ever knew why you left me; before I ever joined the pack," I told him. I felt the sudden need to be honest with him, I knew that this was one of the last chances I would have to do so before I became a Watcher, in more than just name, and before he became my cousin-in-law. " I told the world that it could go fuck itself because I loved you and I was going to stand by you. I lost friends and I worried my family. You left me for her."

He moved to protest but I cut him off.

"It wasn't your fault, but it was still you. Be happy. Make her happy or I'll kill you, but I… I'm not your friend. I'm your ex." I scrubbed my face with my hands, searching for the hard-ass within who could finally give this the conclusion we needed. "Hate me if you need to. Just don't pretend that we don't have a textbook's worth of history between us, and don't expect me to fake it to make you happy."

"Fine," he said, "I'll see you around."

I felt my heart respond and I couldn't tell whether it was healing or breaking. I didn't really care.

I just watched the waves and let the feeling of being free wrap around me like sunlight on newly bared skin.

Later there was experimentation and a lesson in protocol, the fancy words that Jack loves like a second girlfriend and that the rest put up with for the sake of order. I learned to say that I was "Leah Clearwater, A Watcher of Western North America and 2nd liaison to Shape-Shifters" and where to find the notebook with all the addresses and phone numbers, and never to lie to other Watchers.

They fell of their precious ideal that it was almost painful.

The spy hadn't cared about lying. The spy had taken the trust of the world and thrown it away for personal gain and in doing so had helped to kill an innocent and put the hurt in Jamie's eyes. The spy had also unwittingly created the circumstances that allowed for my freedom.

As Jamie and I meditated, I put that thought into the open circle of our shared consciousness. He disagreed. _Alex did that, _he thought lovingly, sadly. _She was special._

_I know, Jamie. So was Sam once. Now shut up. _

Clearly freedom had its drawbacks.

* * *

Hey guys!!!

So, we have a spy, Leah's match power, and Leah and Sam are moving toward a healthier place in their dealings with each other.

Hang on tight cause if you hadn't noticed the pace is picking up and I don't foresee a filler chapter for a long while.

I know this chapter took a while and I'm sorry to say that the next one will too, because there are 3 weeks left in the semester and I have papers and tests to work on, but if you hang with me till the summer I'll be able to update more regularly.

Thanks for reading and reviewing and for your patience.

Next up: Jamie continues the story and the search for the spy and for answers regarding Alexandra's death.


	17. Jamie and Calls or Conversations

Theoretically, it should have been easy.

Step 1: Dial number

Step 2: Ask for Carrie Abdima

Step 3: Ask her about her and Alex's accident, possibly the worst thing to happen to her to date, for no reason that I can actually share.

Ok maybe not so easy .

When I'd told everyone that I'd call Alex's cousin to find out what I could from her, I hadn't been thinking about what it would be like to bring all of it up again, but now I had no real choice in the matter. So I dialed the number and I held my breath and I prayed for Alex to help me get through this.

"Hello?" a soft female voice came over the phone. It was similar to Alex's but not so much that it hurt to hear. We'd spoken a handful of times since Alexandra had passed, but it had been months since I'd heard from her.

"Hey, Carrie, It's Jamie. How've you been?" I asked.

"Well enough, and you?"

"I've been…I've really been missing Alex lately but I'm pressing forward," I answered, picturing Alex's face and trying to let my grief translate into my voice.

" I glad, Jamie," she said warmly. " Anything I can do to help?"

"I need..," I said, cringing deeply at what I was going to ask of her, " I need to know what happened that night. I've read the newspapers but, well… I need to know."

"Jamie, it's been years."

"It's taken me that long to be ready to hear it," I told her. "I showed you my scars, so you know…I couldn't have handled it back then. Please tell me."

"I swore that I wouldn't, but if you really need to know…." she said, beginning to give in.

I nearly asked whom she'd sworn to, but it would have side tracked her.

"I need to know," I insisted.

"Fine," she sighed. Then she took a deep breath and began her story.

* * *

_It was a hot night. _

_Alexandra had been there for three days and she'd spent the better part of them outside, sitting by the pool with me or exploring the city. Every evening, she went off by herself for a while and came back smiling. I could tell that she'd called you. A woman always knows._

_That night I'd convinced her to go out and have fun with me. I knew the bouncer at a local club and he let her in even though she was under-aged. _

_We had fun. _

_We danced to nearly every song and she turned boys down left and right. I ordered flaming shots because we thought that they made us look badass. I'd never noticed how long those things stayed lit before… _

_We left at around 9:45 and in the car we talked about guys we'd seen. I was telling her about this really hot one that had asked about her when we pulled up to the intersection to make a turn towards home. _

_I looked up when I heard the tires against the concrete and, well…I'd been drinking, ok? Remember? I thought I saw two people in the car but that can't be right. _

_I screamed and Alex looked towards it but the car slammed into us before she could react. I blacked out as the airbags deployed. _

* * *

"The next thing I knew I was waking up next to her in the car. The lights were flashing, and she was so still…"

She was crying by this point.

"Carrie, stop. Thank you so much. You've been so brave," I soothed.

"No, I haven't. I swore to your friend that I wouldn't talk about it to you, but you said that you needed-"

"What friend?" I asked sharply.

"Don't talk to me like that." she snapped in response, "Your friend, something Phillips, I don't remember. He said it would screw with your healing process."

"I'm sorry, Carrie, really sorry, but I have to go now," I told her. I needed to call everyone, and soon.

"If they find your body, I'll bust your ghost. Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," I answered, then I hung up and collapsed back onto my bed.

I remembered the moment when she died. I'd felt her half of our shared soul leave this world. I'd lost the feeling of her life which my power had made seem so vibrant.

My eyes burned but I reined in my emotions. Carrie had just confirmed Izzy's vision, and given us a valuable clue.

There were three Phillips men that I knew of that were active Watchers. Several others hadn't found Matches and a few were too young by far. One of those Phillips men was the honorable, young gentleman across the hall from me.

_Damn it,_ I thought. _Mac is not going to like this._

I walked to my door and called, " Teenaged Watchers front and center!"

The two pairs walked out of their respective rooms and Mac and Wes disappeared for a moment, presumably to get Leah, whom they'd dropped off about an hour before.

When they popped back in, Leah in tow, we gathered in my room. I broke the news.

"She's wrong," Mac said, not unkindly. "She couldn't even remember a first name, who's to say that it's one of my relatives. For all you know they could be related to some arbitrary family in Florida or something."

"But she's not," Wes replied. "She referred to him as Jamie's friend and their cover for investigating was that they were concerned friends of the family. They were there."

"Neither my father nor Uncle Andrew would ever betray our organization like that. Even if they did, they'd never have hurt Alex; not while your family loved her," he argued, " besides, there's no motive."

"That you know of," Izzy murmured, " But let's calm down. Mac, it sucks but we have to check this out. Maybe one of them was genuinely concerned about Jamie. If so-"

"Then we could be working to rule them out," Jack finished. "I don't want to believe it either. When's the next conference call?"

"Tomorrow, just after dinner. We have to discuss the Volturi's deal," Izzy answered.

"So can we do any investigating then or should Mac and Wes do some visiting?" Leah asked.

"Neither," I said, "we'll have to be subtle about this. If we find the spy, but not who they're working for, then we're still screwed."

"It's not them," Mac said, resolutely defending his father and uncle. "I know them."

"Fine," I told him, and he grabbed Leah and Wes, nearly pulling them to their feet to leave.

"We'll know when we see them," Jack said after they left, "I'll see the truth in his eyes before he'll think to hide it, either of them."

"Come, Milord," Izzy said to Jack, "The lady Alders and her companion will return soon and then I must away. To be ripped from the arms of my brother would be the greater cruelty by far, so allow me to be parted from you instead."

I felt warm at being called her brother. We hadn't really had time to hang out since Seattle and I'd missed her.

"She wounds me, Jamie, and she does so for your sake," Jack told me, false sadness dripping from his voice. "Remove whatever enchantment binds her to you and let her be kind to me again."

"As if I could hope to hold her," I laughed. "Go! Be lovebirds or love-lords and ladies elsewhere. Leave a rusty old widower to his peace."

"You were never married," Jack pointed out, looking as though he needed confirmation.

"And you were never noble," I told him. Then I shooed them out of my room and I laid myself down to sleep.

In my dreams that night I saw Leah taking flight again, saw her shifting into the wolf and back to human, and I still thought that she was beautiful. Dangerous and beautiful, she was everything that mothers warned sons against, and half of my soul.

In the morning I'd miss old dreams of Alex.

* * *

The next day was a Sunday and I drove out to La Push to hang out with Leah.

She was waiting for me on the front steps of her house when I pulled up.

"Hey Jamie," she greeted hopping into the passenger seat of my car.

"Hey yourself," I replied, "So where are we headed?"

"The beach seems to have worked for us so far. There's a cliff where we should be able talk without worrying about nosey asshats trying to mind our business."

"Lead on."

We parked at the beach then started to walk up towards the cliff.

"So, how's freedom working out for you so far?" I asked her.

"Better when I'm flying," she said, "it's weird, trying to be something other than mad or hurt. It's been a while."

"You could be flying if you want to be. I don't mind just watching," I replied, remembering my dreams. We sat down feet back from the edge of the cliff where we could look without danger of falling.

"We should talk," she said shaking her head.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know, What's Tucson like? You grew up there right?"

"We lived in California before Jack was born, smaller watcher families tend to move around within their areas. Tucson was hot, and dry and beautiful. Lots of nice places to hang out."

"Sounds like the complete opposite of this place," she said, closing her eyes.

I closed mine, sending her mental images of the Valley.

"How's that brother of yours dealing with your shift in alliances?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"He's taking well; happy I won't see his dreams anymore. There are some things that an older sister was never meant to know."

I laughed at that while she sent me mental pictures of herself playing with Emily on the beach when they were younger.

"She's really happy for me. She called after I got home for the night. We were best-friends once."

"I'm glad you got your friend back."

"Are you ok after yesterday?" she asked me after a while.

"Yeah…maybe. I guess I have to be, don't I? I almost wish it were harder," I told her.

"That's stupid," she replied abruptly.

"What?"

I was offended. Who was she to pass judgment on-

"Harder is what got you those scars," she pointed out, " you tried to die for her. You tried to live for her. If you're going demand for that to be hard, then you're not loving her; you're loving pain."

"I love her, and she's gone. Shouldn't that hurt? Didn't it hurt when Sam-" I cut myself off. Just because she was being painfully honest with me didn't mean that I had to be a jerk to her.

" Of course, but it's been a while. How many years has your Alex been gone? You can't bleed forever."

"The people responsible-"

"Will have taken two lives instead of the one that they were getting at if you insist on being some sort of martyr."

"I don't want to talk about this," I snapped, hurt, and vulnerable.

"Fine," she said, then stood and jumped from her place on the cliff.

She shifted forms in the air, becoming a small shark as she hit the water then jumping out and shifting forms again, becoming a hawk and flying towards the sky.

_I'm sorry,_ I murmured across the bond.

_You really are sometimes, Jamie. You really are. _

* * *

While she practiced flying, I backed further off of the cliff and practice making the earth move, as I had that night in Seattle. After about half an hour I heard a thump behind me.

"Damn," Leah muttered picking herself up off of the ground, "and don't apologize. I could have told you that I was trying to land. I'm sorry, by the way."

"What for?" I asked, not able to think of anything off the top of my head.

"I was cold to you earlier. I could have been nicer about that."

"Maybe. Maybe I needed someone to tell it to me straight," I admitted." You're good at that. I saw you with Sam."

"So I'm more than just beautiful?" she asked wryly.

" I've never thought that that was all you were, it's just… spectacularly difficult to ignore," I replied carefully, " and calling you dangerous all the time might be construed as an insult."

She mouthed the word "dangerous", almost trying it on for size.

"Not by me," she seemed to decide aloud.

"You were an assassin before the pack ever got to you," I said as it occurred to me.

"So what were you before her?" she asked, redirecting the flow of conversation.

"A rising star in track, a professional son and older brother, eventually a training Watcher. Mental breakdowns disqualify you from being one of the pros in a lot of areas."

She'd been honest with me, so I owed her.

"You don't suck," she said.

"Good to know" I replied.

She stood and started running back down towards the beach.

"Last one to the car makes lunch," she threw over her shoulder.

I just ran after her.

* * *

A few hours later found us crowded into my father's study with the phone on speaker as the Watchers convened.

Andrew called roll.

"Jonathan Phillips?"

"Here"

"Deborah?"

"At his side."

"Mac?"

"As always."

"Wes."

"by his side"

"Leah"

The list continued and then we were patched in to the larger call, and given a chance to greet our friends from other countries.

Finally the Meeting started.

"Welcome, Watchers," a woman with a British accent opened, "We've got a lot to discuss so I'll spare you the spiel about how we make our meetings like candles in darkness. Don't lie. Izzy, the Volturi have spoken with you?"

"They want the freedom to recruit within our ranks in exchange for information. They seem very much eager to work with us," she said.

There was an odd murmur from the group, then things quieted down.

"They will want to meet with us," she continued, "if we continue in our dealings with them."

"How are things going with the other alliances? The Matched pair we sent in?" Mei asked.

Jack answered, saying only that things were going well and Wes added that the weather was "wonderfully consistent" and that she and Mac were settling in well.

There were a few remarks exchanged, mostly dealing with the pros and cons of acquiescing to the Volturi's request with plans. We were reminded that the alliance was a ruse to keep us safe while we planned and that the Volturi were a threat to the balance.

"The longer we draw this out," Andrew pointed out, " the greater the risk. We should pick our battlefield and start leading them to it. "

A general murmur of agreement went up.

"I move," a woman with an Irish accent declared, "that we plan to strike during the summer and that our interactions be geared towards arranging to meet them then."

A man with a similar accent continued, "The hour ever draws late for some. Let's vote. Proclaim 'aye' three times if her suggestion is to be our directive."

Three ayes rose up like solid walls against opposition.

The British woman spoke again.

"Then go. Know that you are candles in darkness, stars in the night, separate and equal lights to the world. Uphold the balance and make Atlas seem an amateur. We hold the world's fate."

The call ended but, before we could move, the phone rang again.

My father pressed the speakerphone button.

"Stevenses and acquaintances!"

It was Jonathan Phillips.

"Hey Jon, we weren't expecting you," My mother answered easily.

"Hello Father," Mac added.

"Now there's a sound I've missed! It's been a while since I've talked to my boy and this seemed like a good time to check in," he said jovially.

He wouldn't be so nice if he'd betrayed us, right?

"Is Mother there?" Mac asked.

"Of course Michael. How are you and Elizabeth Wesley doing?" his mother replied.

" It's Mac and Wes, Mother, or Wes has expressed less disgust with being called Wesley as of late."

"Yes, Yes, of course, but how are you?"

"We're fine, Mrs. Phil," Wes answered. "As you heard during the call, we're law abiding citizens of Forks. Haven't even made a spoons, knives, or sporks joke."

"And you're honoring your commitments, Michael? I didn't send you there to forget all of our teachings."

"Of course I'm honoring them Father," Mac answered. His eyes narrowed but his voice was sincere.

He asked after all of us then told us that he'd call later, because the other Eastern North American Watchers were waiting on them.

After the call ended my mother turned to us.

"We've given you a tremendously loose leash regarding your doubts and your alleged covert explorations of them, but the eyes of the world may soon be upon us. Wrap this up, if you can, and come to us when you have the answers that you, that we all, need to face the Volturi secure in the knowledge that it's the right thing to do."

"It's not in your hands," Mac replied, "to punish us if we go against your wishes. All of us are equal, and subject only to the will of the undivided whole."

"That's what I'm afraid of," my mother said.

Leah, who'd been sitting next to me squeezed my hand and let her lead me from the room.

We walked outside and sat on the front porch, hand in hand on the steps.

"Jonathan Phillips sounds perfectly unsuspicious," she said facetiously.

"I know, right?" I answered. "We'll know when we see him."

"What will they do to him? What's your mom so scared of?"

"Watchers do nothing without a unanimous vote. We are everywhere and inescapable. Short answer? God only knows. Depends on how pissed everyone is," I told her.

"Comforting thoughts from a well adjusted young Watcher," she replied, her eyebrow raised.

"Damn straight."

She let out a small laugh at that.

"I think I'll fly home now, getting you to swear openly is corruption enough for tonight," she said wryly.

Then she let go of my hand took the form of a hawk before flying towards La Push.

I leaned back against the steps and thought about what she'd said earlier.

I tried to imagine a love for Alexandra that would let me feel good again. She was right. I couldn't bleed forever.

* * *

Hey guys, I'm back with a long chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. Much love and thankfulness to all of my reviewers! I try to respond to all reviews individually so I'm sorry if I missed any.

There was a lot in this chapter and much more to come in future ones. Speaking of…

Da Future: with pressure coming from all sides for our intrepid young Watchers, The last thing Leah needs are problems on the home front, but as she begins the work of rebuilding the life she gave up so long ago it might take more than just a little luck to come out on top. All this and more next chapter

I look forward to your reviews (if you'll be so kind),

P_M


	18. Leah and Living

My arms stung when I shifted back to my human form in the backyard of my mother's house. I unlocked the door and walked inside. I was just in time for dinner.

"Leah, you're back. How did it go?" mom asked as she stirred something in a large pot on the stove.

"Pretty well, I suppose. You know I can't say much."

My mother was an elder and I was a liaison, a representative for the other side. It occurred to me that by throwing my lot in with the Watchers I was abdicating my former place within the pack. I could keep secrets now, yes, but so could they.

My freedom had cost me my birthright and I'd barely felt the loss.

"I know, dear. The food's done, go get your brother and we'll eat."

I walked upstairs to Seth's room and found it empty.

I didn't know where he was.

I walked back downstairs and told Mom.

"Oh, silly me, I forgot. He's meeting with the pack tonight. I'm used to you two being home at the same time. I'll keep some warm for him. Let's eat."

We ate in silence and I tried not to study on the cost of my freedom.

When we were done I asked permission to go out for a walk.

"Don't stay out too late," she warned, then went to the sink and washed the dishes.

I walked out into the night and I remembered what I'd thought before my Match power had kicked in. I was a wolf. I walked into a wooded area and shifted forms.

For a while I wandered aimlessly, learning the smells of the area and avoiding my former packmates, who apparently needed little convincing to believe that I'd betray them. They were at Emily's house. I could tell because I could smell them all off in the same direction, so I waited until their scents dispersed and walked over there.

I shifted forms to knock and Emily answered.

"Hey Leah, They just left."

"I know. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out," I said, wondering what it said about me that my friend hadn't guessed that.

"Come one in!" she said smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm…good, I guess. A lot has changed and in a fairly short amount of time," I told her, sitting down on a chair at her kitchen table.

"I know, must be overwhelming. When Sam…" she trailed off, not wanting to bring up old issues.

"No, it's ok. Being imprinted on is probably as close as anyone can get to having done this before," I said.

"Still… Do you want to watch a movie? You could call your mom and spend the night. I'll make sure you get a ride to school," she suggested.

"Maybe just an episode of something? I really should get home before long."

We sat in front of the T.V and she played with my hair while we watched some show I can't remember. Near the end I felt a little mischievous and took the form of a dog while her hand was still toying idly with the ends of my hair. She jumped a little then laughed.

"So they were telling the truth," she grinned, looking at me."Can you show me what you looked like as a hawk?"

I shifted again and she was awed.

"You don't do much halfway do you?" she said wryly.

"Not when I can help it," I replied, after returning to human form.

We laughed and then she opened a window so that I could fly home.

* * *

When I got to my house, I perched on my brother's window sill and tapped until he let me in.

"Missed you at the meeting," he told me as I shifted back. I smiled a little.

"It was weird not being there. Are they still mad at me?" I asked, sitting on his dresser as he leaned against the wall next to his window. Absently it occurred to me that I was going to start aging again, so in a few years I might actually look as much older as I really was.

He frowned a little before fixing his face and answering.

"Of course not, it's not like it's your fault or anything," he said, almost tentatively.

"You really should be a better liar than that," I commented.

"Sam's ordered us not to hurt you, same as the rest of them, but I wouldn't take food from any of them either," he amended.

"Hypocrites," I spat.

"Preaching to the choir, Leah," he reminded me.

"I better be," I said gratefully, mussing his hair, "I trained you too well for you start being a jerk now."

"Stop it, and go to bed. We have school tomorrow," Seth managed to get out with a laugh, "Jacob says he'll drive you if you don't want to risk flying or slithering or whatever else you might do. Just meet us in front of the house after patrol time."

"Sounds good. Night," I said, squeezing his shoulder and going to my room, where I slept soundly until the dawn approached.

* * *

The next morning, I was sitting at the kitchen table after eating breakfast before school and trying to remember what I'd done with my mornings before I'd been assigned to patrol the area.

_Leah_, Jamie's voice interrupted my thoughts as he used the bond to talk to me. _ we could meditate if you have a minute or twenty. Or we could try after school, if you want to meet up and do some training. _

_Can we meditate now and just train later? You could pick me up from school. _ I suggested.

_Can the others come too? If so it would be easier to meet at your place, or the beach, _he pointed out.

_The far end, near the cliff, and of course, _I answered, standing and walking back to my room.

Then I slipped further into meditation and waited for him to join me.

When he did it was warmth, and sureness, and something like friendship. It was the feeling of being whole, but there was also distance and stretching.

_It's different_, I said, as my thoughts drifted into the connection.

_It's because we're separated. Closeness is something that Matched pairs need, _he answered. _ My…Alex and I used to do this on purpose sometimes, meditate on opposite sides of the city, stretch the bond. _

I waited for his sadness to flow in, braced for it, but there was only nostalgia, a bittersweet feeling of remembered happiness.

_Why? _ I asked, not sure what I was asking about.

_Because of how perfect it felt when we met in the middle later. The contrast. _

_Could we? _

_If you still want to after we train,_ he said. Then we let silence prevail and the world drifted away only to come crashing back when Seth knocked on my door and summoned me down to go to school.

Jacob avoided my eyes in the rear view mirror when I slid into the backseat of his car. Seth sat up front and Jacob started us on the way to school before he spoke to me.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Good morning to you too, Jake. The weather is brilliant today and I'm so fine it should be illegal to be half as well-adjusted as I am on this fine Monday morning," I replied with a deadpan expression.

"Leah I just need to know. Is she really happy? You've been hanging out with her right?" he asked, the resignation in his voice making me feel some sympathy for him. I wasn't the only one letting go these days.

"She really is. They'd sooner die than see her harmed. Look on the bright side, at least she's not with the mind-reading, undead, creep," I told him.

He managed a small laugh, "Yeah, thanks for small miracles."

"Can you tell me anything?" I asked, curious.

"Same question," he replied.

"Thanks for the ride," I sighed, getting out of the car and walking towards the school.

I looked around as I walked in and I felt different. I was a person with a future, a real one, and a soon one too. I was a senior in high school. Something inside me burst and for the first time in a long time, I walked to class smiling.

* * *

During lunch I sat at a table with a girl from one of my morning classes, Callie. Her family had moved back recently so she didn't know why most people avoided me.

"So are you going to Mary's party this Saturday?" she asked after we talked for a while.

We'd been friends once, but I hadn't spoken to her since after Sam had disappeared.

"I wasn't invited, we sort of …lost track of each other, I guess," I hedged.

"Well, come on! Let's ask if you can come, it's going to be a lot of fun."

She pulled me up from the table and over to the one where Mary and a few other former friends of mine sat.

I briefly considered turning into a mouse and scurrying away while she wasn't looking, but decided against it.

"Leah," Mary said, mildly surprised by my presence, "and Callie. I didn't know you were friends."

"It's recent," Callie grinned, " So, can I bring my new friend to your party? You two could use the chance to catch up."

"We really could," I added, " it's kinda stupid that we don't talk anymore."

She looked at me appraisingly, and for a moment my temper nearly led me to decide that she wasn't worth it, but did sort of miss talking to people without secret magical worlds full of baggage in the way. I gave her a slight, hopefully reassuring smile.

"You bringing your boyfriend?" she asked, suspicious.

"He's not how you think he is, and he's getting married to my cousin in a few weeks," I told her. " If you're going to reject me because I won't reject him, then I think I've seen this episode so I can find another pre-teen drama elsewhere."

I turned to walk away, and she stopped me with two words.

"I'm sorry," she said. " I mean that must suck, and after all of that… I'd have killed him."

"It's been hard not to, sometimes," I conceded, not doing as I wanted to and asking for the apology that she actually owed me. I needed friends besides Izzy and Jamie.

"Then… Mary you don't have to bring her," she reached into a bag on the floor and pulled out an envelope and a pen. She wrote my name on the envelope and handed it to me. "Here's your invitation. It really is dumb that we stopped talking."

The bell rang, and I went back to my table to get my stuff before going to class. I couldn't quite decide whether or not that felt like a victory.

I'd chosen Sam. I'd told each and every one of them to fuck off 'cause I was going to stand by my man like something out of a country western song, but they'd made it a choice by shunning me for my association with him.

Was every good thing in my life going to be bittersweet? Forever?

I started counting down the hours until school ended and I could fly. I knew what bathroom window I'd soar out of, and debated species of bird, wingspans vs. the rush of losing control.

There was no bitter in that….

There was, however, quite a bit in Mac's voice as I drew near the ground and glanced around before shifting back to human form.

"Sounding a little odd does not make him a traitor," Mac said with ice and steel in his voice. "He's my father, and Andrew is my uncle. I know them and they are good men, as good as any I've ever met. They wouldn't do this. We should pursue other options."

"Like what?" Izzy asked, stepping towards him, "Shall I take a nap and watch my would-have-been sister die again? Or better yet, should I stare ineffectually at that dark reflection with the whispering voices until one of them decides to speak up?"

"It's not his fault, Izzy," Wes said, stepping between the two of them, "and I can think of a couple of things that won't be my fault if you're moving to do anything less than comforting right now."

"You heard what my mother said," Jack insisted, taking Izzy's hand. I moved to stand next to Jamie as he continued, "The eyes of the world will be upon us soon, and if we can't offer them something when they find out that we've been hiding things, who knows what they'll do?"

"I will not offer up my relatives to the justice of the group to save myself from punishment," Mac said, eyes narrowing and the tension growing exponentially as he gradually lost control of his power.

"And if one of them is guilty?" I asked, compromising with a desire to comfort him by moving closer and taking his hand in a brief squeeze to remind him of our shared side in all if this; that we were all on the same team.

"Then I'll do what I must, but these are men that I've respected from infancy. I can't understand what would make them betray our organization."

"Why would you?" Jamie asked. "You were raised with the same relative values. What would make you give information about another Watcher to someone who would use that information? Think about it later. We need to train as a group, do some meditating, and then get home to do some schoolwork."

I moved to reply then stopped myself, realizing that among Watchers Jamie and I effectively shared a voice.

"Let's get to it," Wes announced. Then she made a seashell rise from the ground with her power before shooting it at Izzy and Jack, fast as any pitcher in major league baseball. The rest of us backed up to give ourselves room.

It slowed visibly as it got close, likely encountering her and Jack's "safe place" before Jack caught it and pitched it at me. I shifted forms and batted it at Mac with a wing.

He side stepped it, letting Wes catch it with her powers and I felt my heart rate increase as he turned his attention to me I flew over to Izzy and Jack, who extended their shield to include me, stopping Mac's influence. The dropped the shield a moment later as Izzy launched forward to engage Mac in some hand to hand while I rushed at Wes. Jack and Jamie made for an interesting sparring match as Jamie sent earthquakes under Jack's feet while Jack fought to stay upright while attacking Jamie with the truth.

"You're worried about what your eyes are telling me. You don't think you could hurt me if you wanted to. Not me, not in anything but a video game. You feel-"

I stopped listening to focus on my own fight; trying hard to find an animal that could hope to even touch Wes, but she blocked me at nearly every turn. I tried large and dangerous animal that I could think of but she just kept locking onto me and holding me in place or dropping me into the water.

Jamie re-directed his power toward Wes and Jack began his tirade, and some physical attacks too, me. I got the upper hand though. Snake eyes are apparently a little harder to find truth in.

Izzy and Jack fought their way back to each other, forming their shield, and the training continued in a blur of moving bodies and flight and taunts.

Afterwards, we lay on the beach exhausted for a while before spreading out as much as sore muscles would allow so that we could meditate while we rested.

Jamie's back was warm against mine and he smelled like sweat, but I was learning to enjoy those moments before things got metaphysical. When else did I get to indulge in touch like this, lingering human contact without needing explanation.

There were little fragments of sunlight peaking through the clouds, touching me like gentle hands on my face and arms and legs, and it occurred to me just how personal this act was, sitting together beneath the endless and infinite eye of sky at the edge of the world.

The flowery word spouting outsiders have infected me, damn it, but that's what it felt like. It got suddenly more intimate as he slipped into meditation and I followed.

It was perfect; connection without strain or distance. It was completion and friendship, and I could feel his love for her, maybe the only 'her' that would ever matter for him in any real way, and something in me stirred strangely. I didn't know if there would be anything left of my feelings for Sam for him to pick up on. That struck me as unfair for a moment, but then I picked up on an undercurrent in his thoughts that even he likely hadn't noticed.

_Beautiful, dangerous, fierce,_ the words cycled strangely like part of him was trying to understand something.

Maybe not so unfair after all.

* * *

Mac and Wes dropped me off in my room before going back and taking the others home. I walked downstairs to find my mother standing at the kitchen table with a small smile on her face. She was holding an envelope.

"Hey Mom, What's that?" I asked, walking over and pulling out dishes to set the table.

"Why don't you have a look?"

It was from a college, University of Washington, and it was the thick envelope.

I held my breath as I carefully opened the envelope.

"_Congratulations Leah Clearwater …." _

I'd gotten in.

Nearly on reflex I shifted into a humming bird and flew a few turns around the room before resuming human form and turning to my very surprised and amused mother and saying exactly two words.

"I'm in!"

"Congratulations! Now get upstairs and let me handle this," she said grinning and shooing me off in the direction of my room.

When I got there I closed my eyes and focused on the bond with Jamie.

_I got into University of Washington! I'm going to college! _

_Great_, he replied, we'll even be in the same city next year. Stop yelling.

_Sorry. What school do you go to again? _

_Washington State. Jamie and Izzy plan to follow me, and before you ask, Mac and Wes have their hearts set on NYU. _

_I applied there but I haven't heard back yet._ Would I even want to be at the same college as him next year?

_Should I make some calls and find out for you, or would you rather wait? _

_I'll wait. I can do that now, I'm going to college!!! _

He laughed at my enthusiasm before going to tell the others and playing messenger was they passed on their congratulations.

That night, we had my favorite foods for dinner, and Seth didn't grumble when he had to do the dishes. Then it was business as usual, doing homework and getting ready for bed.

As I fell asleep that night, I heard my door open.

It was my mother.

She kneeled down by my bed, stopping me when I moved to sit up.

She stroked my hair softly.

"Your father would be so proud of you," she said. Then she kissed my forehead and whispered, " Remember, you have ever been one of us. You will always have our protection. You will forever carry the hopes of this," she gestured broadly, "your tribe. And this," she gesture between us and glanced towards Seth's room, "your family. No matter what you are or where you go."

My dreams that night were peaceful, full of soft waves and cool rains. I can never really know, but I took it as a sign that, somewhere, my father was pleased.

* * *

The rest of the week went fairly normally. Jamie and the rest of them popped over again on Wednesday to train, this time with less arguing. Izzy was doing her best to at least identify the language that the people were whispering in her vision, and the Watchers were starting to choose their battlefield. They could only really decide on "not Italy".

Izzy spoke to the Volturi again and they were happy that we'd chosen to allow their request and Aro was as enthusiastic about choosing a meeting place as he was about everything else. He insisted that meeting over the phone simply wouldn't do and he suggested places ranging from Forks to Paris and even suggested a hidden temple or two beneath the Vatican if we had a flair for the dramatic.

She forestalled him, telling him that they were talking it over. Aro didn't mind. What's time to an immortal?

After all of the things going on that week, Mary's party seemed just a little bit pointless.

Oh, it was a grand affair. Mary had strung white Christmas lights around her backyard and a stereo, brand new, pumped out hits on a prerecorded CD while a bunch of people from our school danced and flirted. The food was great and I could have had fun, but Mary had come under fire from her friends for inviting me, and those girls I'd told to fuck off were now saying it back with every mean glance in my direction.

It didn't help that I had very little still in common with them. I'd had several major life events, become several different people, since then. They wanted me to beg for social approval that I'd long since grown accustomed to living without.

To their credit though, Mary and Callie stood beside me. We formed a sub-party in a corner and danced ridiculously and laughed like Mary and I used to, before love and life got in the way.

Ok so maybe the party wasn't entirely pointless either.

Just as Callie and I were considering how best to sneak Mary out of her own party and away from the angry faces of her friends, the party ended for me with a phone call.

"Who is it?" I asked, answering my cell phone.

"It's Wes. We're at your house. Tell us where you are! Alice Cullen has seen something important, and we're going to head over there for an official visit so she can tell us what," she said in a tone that would have been imperious but, because it was Wes, just passed for urgent.

"I'll meet you at my house in five minutes," I replied, hanging up.

I turned to them and gave swift apologies for having to run before rushing off, ignoring the whispers at my back as people came up with scandalous reasons for my departure.

I shifted in a stand of trees next door to the house, then took off flying in my favorite form, a hawk.

That was my life, hasty moments of normalcy amidst duties and summons from the supernatural.

I was only beginning to start living it in a way that let me take joy in it, and nothing was going to stop me as I flew off to get the information that would help me to protect that still new life of mine and the amazing people in it.

Now, I'm afraid I must shoo you back off to Jamie, or send him over to you…. Jamie, are you still awake over there? It's your turn. Use it well.

* * *

Hey guys, so I'm nearly free of the grips of final exam week, just one more test to go, and I figured I'd celebrate by getting this out. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll all review. I'll try to respond promptly.

So basically this chapter was about shifting forward, for everyone, moving from talking to training, healing, making plans, building relationships, that sort of thing.

Next Chapter: out intrepid band of heroes goes to see the Cullen family, what has Alice seen? When a glimpse into the future brings this rising from the past, timing becomes crucial, and not just for comedic effect.

OUTTAKES/ "deleted " scenes/ reader request tally: as those of you who actually read these noted know the top 3 reviewers at the end of the story get to request an outtake which I will post at the end of the story. The current top 3 are (in order) Team Ziva, PriestessOfFreya, NotSoSlightlyCrazy. If you want you may start thinking of characters and a basic concept of what you want, though we do have a ways to go with story, so…keep that in mind. Nothing is final until the last chapter but here's where you stand now. The runner up (fourth place) is The Golden Wytch.


	19. Jamie and figuring it out or spy I

Leah Clearwater was dangerous. I know that you know that and that you know that I told her so, but it bears repeating. It really does.

She was dangerous when we meditated and her hands in mine and her back against mine and her mind touching mine and…. There's a reason that most Matched pairs are couples.

That she was helping me move past my grief over Alex, and that we shared so much in the way of being the children that love liked to abuse, didn't help at all.

I was love's martyr, damn it. I was loving my Alex endlessly forever after. I'd found my one true love, my one true happiness, and I'd lost it and that was it. My life was supposed to be a testament to my love for her, as much as any widow's in any story by any sea.

So why couldn't I stop noticing how beautiful her eyes were when she corrected me or talked about flying? Why was I dreaming about her and losing control of my speech around her?

It was all better after she'd confronted me about the extent to which I'd come to love the pain of Alex's memory. Loving my lost one had gotten easier and I'd regained my place in my world and my family. I didn't need anything else. I had more than I deserved, so there was no real reason for me to feel drawn to Leah Clearwater. Ha! Like the heart needs a reason….

* * *

On Saturday morning I woke up and went for my run as usual, checking on Mac and Jack before leaving and running the route past Izzy's house. She and Wes were up and waiting with a water bottle and a granola bar when I passed, the world's best pit crew. I stopped long enough to hug them in thanks for their efforts before going back and taking a shower. When I got out I pulled on a t-shirt and jeans and went to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Eat up, boys," my mother was telling Jack and Mac. "You're going to be late for lunch and the last thing either if you need is an empty stomach. You too, Jamie."

"Any clue why we'll be late?" I asked, sitting down and taking a generous number of pancakes from the stack that she'd put in the middle of the table.

"Not a one, love, but I'm sure it's bound to be important."

She continued busying herself around the kitchen, but stopped after a moment and looked up at us.

"There have been some whispers among the heads about sending another pair or two in. Check your email, because they'll schedule a conference call soon, you have until the day before that call to come to a conclusion or drop your investigation," she said, almost reluctantly.

"How long do suppose that will be?" Mac asked, staring at his plate without seeming to really see it.

"A days at the most," My father answered, as he entered the room. "If we could give you more time we would, but you know what rules you've broken. If the rest of them find out, action will be taken, and swiftly."

The two youngest Watchers present stood and left the table. I followed them to Mac's room.

"Days to solve a years old mystery," Mac sighed, falling back onto his bed. "Well that's lovely."

He pulled out his phone and called Wes.

"Put us on speaker, please? We need to talk to both of you."

"Hey guys," Izzy said after Wes did as asked. "What's going on?"

"We've got days to figure this out before my parents shut us down," Jack summed up.

Wes said a couple of words not worth repeating.

"Exactly," Mac replied. "Izzy, have you seen anything at all?"

"Nothing new. Guys, why don't you three work the motives angle, and I'll go back to bed? Maybe I'll see something. Is Leah with you?"

"She's going to a party this afternoon and figured I'd give her a day off, not like she can do much now anyway."

"Fine, but if she's pissed at us for not telling her, it's your issue," Wes said bluntly. "We'll call if sleeping beauty here comes up with anything."

After they hung up, we sat around talking.

"So, Why would someone betray the Watchers, and to whom?" I asked them.

"There's no reason," Mac answered, " all decisions are unanimous, all missions are voluntary, and anything we really need, from jobs to childcare and even money, can be gotten easier by working with the group than against it."

"But maybe that's it. Maybe someone wants more than just what they need. The watchers have power, influence, love, money, and shoelaces…what else do people get killed for?" Jack countered.

"A Klondike bar?" I suggested. "Motives only really need be significant to the perpetrator so it could be anything. Mac, can you think of any reason at all why either Jon or Andy would do it?"

"No."

He looked into Jack's eyes for confirmation but Jack shook his head.

"Yes you can. You know they'd both do it for one reason. What is it Mac?"

"I won't fuel your accusations," he said, turning away. Mac pulled his iPod out of his pocket and started fiddling with the dual headphone jack. He wanted Wes.

"Everyone has a price, Mac. Having a price doesn't imply that you sold out, and having a motive won't mean that either of them did this," I told him reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Then why do you need to know?" he asked.

He seemed to space out for a moment and the play of emotions on his face told me that he was talking it out with Wes across their bond.

"Justice," he said finally. "If they felt that someone had done them or their loved ones wrong, both of them would see the person responsible pay by any means necessary. No sin without consequence."

"Is that what your father meant when he told you to remember their teachings?" Jack wondered.

"Among other things, yes. They were reminding me to mind my manners and to look out for my friends," Mac answered. "This is pointless. As far as I know, no one from the Watchers has done anything that would merit betrayal in response."

Something clicked in my brain and I realized what should have been so obvious.

"Guys, What if the Watchers aren't the ones that the spy is responding to? What if we're the means?"

Realization dawned on their faces.

For a moment we stared at each other, the air thick with the things that weren't being said. We'd nearly been played. Someone had betrayed us to force our hand. The spy was using the system against us.

"Wait," Mac said curiously, "Watchers protect their own. If someone harmed a Watcher or a member of one of our families why would they have to trick us into acting on their behalf? "

" If their request was denied…" Jack speculated. "Jamie?"

"I don't remember any request, but it's been a while. Come on Jack, you and I can look through the minutes of the meetings for the year that Alex died. Mac, would you mind telling Izzy and Wes what we've figured out so far?"

Jack and I went to our father's office and got the binders of minutes from the conference calls. Then we spent the next few hours poring over every request made within three years of Alex's "accident". Mac joined us after a while.

The requests were varied and interesting. They ranged from the simple ("A faerie tricked my six year old into giving away an heirloom of my families, could someone help me get it back?") to the complex ("She's just broken since her match died; not in her right mind. She'd never have made that deal with the foul spirit otherwise. You must believe, and help, oh for the love of God, help!). The responses were positive ( "I got this, put the phone on speaker and summon that the little thing. We'll sort this out" ) or compassionate in their refusal (" what's done is done. Take what you will from us to ease her in these last days, but she'll have to fulfill the deal as stated.").

All requests were voted on unanimously and no action was taken until even those most affected by the outcome were satisfied. Why lie? Why change your vote if you weren't satisfied that the chosen way was right? These were questions I had for the traitor.

We were about to take a break for lunch when Jack's cell phone rang.

"Hey Bella," he answered, "What… ok, We'll be ready to go when you get here. Alice Cullen has seen something and Izzy and Wes are on their way over here so that we can all go over there together."

The three of us separated to get ready to go, and about twenty minutes later Mac and Wes popped back in with Leah and it was time to find out what the future held.

* * *

Izzy called the Cullens to warn them of our imminent arrival via teleportation, an unnecessary but polite step before we held hands in a circle, and Mac and Wes popped us to the end of their driveway.

We paired off unconsciously as we walked. Jack and Izzy lead the group, Izzy's status as the liaison with the Cullens making them as close to in charge as any of us. Mac and Wes followed, ready to protect them if needed, and Leah and I brought up the rear.

As we walked, I caught Leah up to speed on what we'd learned that morning.

"…So we know that the traitor might be using the Watchers to get at someone, that either of the Phillips men might have done it because of a perceived wrong against someone, and that it has to be someone big, or he'd just take revenge on his own. And you're no closer to finding out why the Volturi were counted as a threat. And we have a week. Well that's just perfect. You should have called me!" Leah scolded.

"I wanted to give you a morning off, you couldn't have done much anyway," I defended.

"Are we partners?" she asked, annoyed.

"But, I-"

"Are we partners?"

"Yes, I'm… I'm not sorry but I understand why you might be annoyed. I know you don't need protecting but it can be nice to be to have a break, and you're new to this."

"Next time give me the option," she said, relaxing once she was sure that I'd learned my lesson.

After that, we walked in relative silence, our hands brushing occasionally. Hers had no right to be so soft. My heart always sped up a little when I walked. Yeah.

There was resignation in her face and at the corners of her mind as we walked. Part of me wondered if the Cullens still smelled bad to her and how much of what the pack had brought to her life still lingered.

I hadn't realized that I'd been thinking with the bond open but I had been, so she answered.

_Just enough, Jamie, just enough. It's not so terrible, but well… it's hard to break some habits. These guys were the villains in my bedtime stories. _

I tried to imagine Carlisle or Esme as the sort of being that could scare Leah. It was harder than it should have been.

Alice was waiting on the front porch and she lead us all in. The rest were seated or leaning on walls in various places around the living room, curious as to what she'd seen.

Edward, I noticed, was watching Wes the way that scientists watch lab rats from where he was sitting on the piano bench. When he fell over a moment later, I studiously avoided the smug look on Wes's face, and the exasperated one on Izzy's.

Apparently this was a regular thing, so no matter how much I wanted to laugh, it would have been out of place. That didn't stop Emmet… or Jasper for that matter.

Izzy greeted them all, even nodding tolerantly in Edward's general direction, and we made ourselves comfortable before Alice started.

" So, as you may or may not know, Izzy has been keeping me informed about your, shall we say 'internal affairs' problem," she announced, a perfectly arched eyebrow rising with the mention of our spy. "When she told me that you'd narrowed it down to two people I started keeping an eye on them. I was hoping to see the guilty party reveal themselves."

"We're grateful for the help Ms. Alice," Mac said, even in the midst of his turmoil retaining his manners and lending them to our cause by speaking for us. "Would you be so kind as to tell us what you've seen?"

Jasper shot Mac an approving glance, and I was happy that they might find common ground. If anyone could use an extra friend at the time it was Mac.

"Most of what I've seen has been inconsequential," Alice continued, "Mac, your parents miss you and will call you tomorrow. Your uncle is planning to call tonight then afterwards he's going to get on a plane and he's going to visit a cemetery in upstate New York. He's going to be spending a long time sitting in front of a memorial for a family with the last name Reese. I drew a picture of the memorial, let me get it."

She vanished and returned a second later with a sketch book which she handed to Mac.

"Does it look familiar?" Izzy asked.

On the sketchbook I could see a drawing of a statue of an angel with a plaque and the base proclaiming the names of a family of four.

Mac shook his head slowly, "No but there's something familiar about one of these names,' Emily'. I guess we'll have to look them up and see what their connection to him is."

"We could help with that," Carlisle offered. " Since she's dead, I see no ethical problem with finding her medical records, and my sons would, if nothing else, at least be able to search faster than you. Right boys?"

Jasper, Emmet, and Edward responded affirmatively.

"If I do it will you give me a re-match, Wes? My strength vs. your brain once and for all?" Emmet asked grinning.

"You got it, Loser-boy," Wes grinned back.

"That's what you think, puny mortal!"

"That's what I…."

Edward's voice cut across the trash talking, " Perhaps after your re-match, you'd like to-"

"Hang you by your toes and threaten your life until you say ' Stalking is not an attractive quality' 20,000 times?" Wes suggested cutting him of , "Edward! You know me so well."

" Guys, we have work to do," Jasper said, directing his brothers upstairs.

Mac and Wes moved to follow them but Izzy's cell phone rang.

Alice's expression went vague for a moment before she spoke.

"It's the Volturi. You can talk in mine and Jasper's room."

She led us there and Jack and Izzy joined hands, making their shield; a safe place to talk where the Cullens wouldn't here or be heard by the Volturi.

"Aro! I wasn't expecting to hear from you today," Izzy said into the speaker phone. "It's a pleasant surprise."

"I should hope so, young friend. Has further progress been made on selection of a place to meet?" Aro asked, his voice cheerful and bright as always.

"Some places have been ruled out but no consensus has been reached." Izzy informed him, carefully containing all emotions not expected of an ally. "You have a suggestion?"

"Why don't we meet in the woods near Forks? Since your organization stretches around the world, there would never be a place near enough for everyone. In Forks you would not have to travel, and we could drop in on our friends, the Cullens, too," he explained sensibly.

Fear dawned on Izzy's face. They wanted to come to her, to the place where her father and all of her friends and their families lived, and they wanted her to invite them in.

I tapped Mac on the hand to get his attention before mouthing "Calm her."

Mac took her hand and the tension slipped from her face.

"And if we would prefer a different location?" Izzy wondered aloud.

"Then it might be construed as a lack of trust on the part of the Watchers, unless there is some reason that you would prefer we not meet there?" Aro replied, curious.

"It'll be fine. Of course we have all trust in you as our Allies. We will talk amongst ourselves and I can promise you a date and time for our meeting in due course," she promised.

They exchanged parting words and Izzy hung up the phone.

The battlefield was set.

* * *

For a long time, we sat staring at each other and trying to understand the repercussions of what had just happened.

Not of it had even begun to make sense when a prelude by Debussy broke the silence.

It was Mac's Phone.

He glanced at the phone before answering and turning on the speaker phone.

"Hello Uncle Andrew," He said politely. "Are you well?"

"Well enough. You and Wes on the up and up?"

"We're flying. Did you just call to check on us?" he asked.

"Why? Is it a bad time?" Andrew returned casually .

"Never for my favorite uncle. I don't have long, I'm afraid, but I do have _some_ time to spare."

"Then I'll get right to the other thing I wanted to talk about. I know that there'll be a conference call at the end of the week but I was wondering about something and would rather not wait. Any progress on the Volturi situation?"

His voice sounded tense. Andrew never sounded tense.

"We've set a location to meet, or rather they did. They will meet with us outside the city of Forks at a time of our choosing. The battlefield has been chosen," Mac informed grimly. His powers slipped and the dark tension in the room rose by degrees.

"Then it's almost done," Andrew replied with something like relief in his voice.

"Or just beginning," Wes answered, " Why the burning curiosity? All would be revealed in the light of our shared gathering."

"You really are a great Watcher, Mac; proof that the next generation will eclipse the one before it."

Resignation warred with pride in his voice.

"If I am, it's because you and others have trained me to be. Uncle Andrew you didn't answer my question. Is something wrong?" Mac asked sounding worried.

"Nothing Mac, trust me. I was considering whom I would propose to send to join you in Forks. Being up to date on your progress would be helpful in that. I've kept you long enough. Tell Wes I said hi, and forward my regards to the Stevens. Mind your corrections," he rushed

"As always," Mac replied, and then he hung up the phone.

"Mind your corrections?" Izzy asked after a beat. Leah looked a little confused at that too.

Mac smiled before explaining wryly, "He tells Wes and the other young Watchers to mind their manners, but since I falter more rarely than them, he tells me to mind my corrections. He means for me to not correct people so often that I become a nuisance."

"And what about the way-"Wes started but was cut off when a knock sounded at the door.

Jack and Izzy dropped their shield, or dispelled their safety circle or whatever they call it, and Wes opened the door with her mind.

Emmet was standing in the doorway.

"Guys, we found plenty of information about that girl and her family. Carlisle and the others are waiting in his office of you're done with your phone call."

Izzy led the way out of the room.

* * *

Carlisle's office was very full once we all entered and Izzy sat on Jack's lap to make room. Mac and Wes mocked them a little, Wes taking a seat and Mac perching on her knees. Leah and I shared a long glance before I finally took a on the floor next to her chair. She mussed my hair as she sat down and I fought my attention back to the vampires in the room, Carlisle sitting behind his desk, Edward standing near Wes and Mac's seat, and Jasper and Emmet leaning against bookshelves. The other Cullens were likely listening from elsewhere in the house but Carlisle's office was only so big.

Once we were all settled, Carlisle started.

"Emilia Reese and her family lived in upstate New York several decades ago, around the same time as Andrew, and the rest of his immediate family; your father and grandparents, Mac. Her parents Ronald and Cecilia, worked as a doctor and concert pianist respectively. Cecilia Reese was born Cecilia Moretti and they met in Italy. She moved to the states and they married. Emilia went to the same school as your uncle and they appear to have been good friends, showing up in yearbook pictures together from kindergarten until the Reese family disappeared, during the summer of 1975 on a trip to Italy."

"The Volturi," Mac, Wes, and Izzy all hissed at once.

"It sounds that way," Carlisle agreed.

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. The pieces were falling into place. _No sin without consequence_, Mac had said. They had killed her and years later he'd learned of their crime when he'd found his match and learned who they there were. Watchers protect their own but that protection only extended so far. It would've been crazy to expect the Watchers go to war with the Volturi over a friend lost in childhood, so he'd brought it closer to home.

It made terrifying and horrible sense; one love for another, and one life, to correct a wrong done before Alexandra or I had even been born.

_My God, Andrew how could you? _I thought.

Leah's hand on my shoulder brought me back to reality.

Around me the others were coming to the same conclusions, and more, as they spoke and reacted.

"Damn it, Andrew!" Wes said furiously "he used us all, took a worldwide organization and pointed us like a gun."

Words flew through the air and jumble of indignation, shock and anger. Even Leah seemed angrier than I figured she should be.

I glanced up at Edward and gestured to Jasper with my eyes thinking, _Are they really this mad or is Mac about to blow, and losing his grip on his power? Find out without alerting the masses. _

He nodded discretely, and then a moment later he looked pointedly at Mac.

Mac was showing no outward emotion.

Not good.

"Thank you for the information and the hospitality Carlisle, but I think we would do well to get home," he said, startling us all into silence with the ice in his voice. "Alice, is he still in the cemetery?"

"He's not there yet, but he will be after you've taken the time to calm down. Don't you have a procedure for this?" Alice answered approaching from her and Jaspers room.

"We do," Leah said, looking surprised to be a part of that 'we', " I read about it, we should go get ready. Jasper, can you cool their jets so we can take off?"

Jasper's eyes narrowed in a show of inherent distrust for someone still linked with La Push, but nodded.

Soon after, we were gathering around Mac and Wes to be popped home.  
We had a spy to catch.

* * *

Hey guys, and welcome to the beautiful and regular updating province of Summer. A lot happened this chapter, and I need some serious feedback or I'm going to worry that I've alienated you all in one fell swoop. Thanks as always to those who've reviewed and story alerted, ladies and gents, you rock my socks.

As far as I know the review tally stands, and **I welcome outtake suggestions** from the top three reviewers I do ask that you message me rather than reviewing with your suggestion if at all possible.

I'll get right to work on the next chapter, and since I finished the school year and am not gainfully employed...it shouldn't take more than about a week and a half.

**Next Up :** Why do they always run? Feet, words, and information scramble as the Watchers web begins to untangle and secrets and lies are not just for spies. See it all through Leah's eyes next chapter!


	20. Leah and interludes or 'more'

Everyone looked some combination of hurt, and murderous when we arrived back at the Stevens' s home. We'd popped into the living room and the first thing that we heard was Ms. Stevens calling us over for lunch.

"You're late, but I expected that. Why don't you all come and sit and have…" she trailed off as the looks on our faces registered. "What's wrong?"

For a moment, we just stared at each other.

I felt awkward and more than a little out of place, surrounded by emotions that read like un-funny inside jokes. Jamie filled in some of the background info across the bond.

_Our family has been tied to the Phillips family for as long as anyone can remember, at least back to just before my mom's side of the family moved out west. Our parents were raised to treat Andrew and Jonathan as family, just as we were raised to love Mac and Wes, and Mac's cousins. This… this will be for them like it would be for you if Jacob were to betray the pack. _

"I'll explain_," _Wes said, stepping forward. Then she turned to Jamie saying, "Everyone else is new to this. Mac and I know the protocol at least. Go over it with them and start getting ready."

She squeezed Mac's hand, softening her voice before asking, "Wanna come with me or would you rather hang out with the others?"

"Mind if I take a minute with my iPod while you explain?" he asked quietly.

"I expect it, music man, just keep the volume manageable," Wes replied.

Then she led him and Jamie's parents back to Mr. Stevens's office.

Jamie took the rest of us to his room.

Jack, Izzy, and I all sat on the couch with Izzy in the middle. Jamie stayed standing, sliding into information dispensing mode with a kind of relief. Facts were easier than feelings at the moment.

"When someone is found to be a traitor, the first thing that happens is that all of the Heads of Watcher families are called on an emergency alert. When a head is suspected there are rules about replacements. In this case, it'll be Jonathan for the Eastern North America. My parents will be taking care of that before we leave. The others will start devising a list of punishments that we'll vote on. The family that is in the best position to apprehend the traitor does that and brings them to the family that figured it all out for questioning. Then there's a conference call and a punishment is chosen, to be administered by those most harmed by the betrayal and monitored by one other to insure mercy," Jamie lectured.

"How did you guys get anything done before the phone was invented?" I wondered aloud.

"We used to have a lot more people with long range mental powers. We evolve. Any more questions?"

" You said 'before we leave'. Where are we going? Wouldn't Jonathan be in the best position to get his brother? Or someone else on the east coast?" Jack asked.

"We have Mac and Wes. We can get there faster than almost anyone," Izzy answered as Jamie nodded his agreement.

"You'll have to punish him, won't you?"I asked, locking eyes with him, "He gave them Alex, or at least gave them enough information to have her killed. You were closest to her."

"True." He said, withdrawing from all of us. Izzy and Jack let him, shifting attention on each other, as they prepared mentally for the tasks to come. I… well, I didn't have the option of leaving him to his thoughts.

We'd fought side by side before we'd even known about the bond, and this was our first real fight after that. I closed my eyes and studied his side of the bond, like staring into a whirlpool of emotion. I couldn't let him drown in that, so I reached my hand out towards his face, touching just under his chin to suggest that he look up and…

I slapped him.

"What the-" he shouted, looking outraged. Then something in his face shifted and he laughed a little.

"Thanks," he said wryly, and I wondered if we would always be like that, helping by hurting – biting truths traded with harsh touches meant to heal.

"Maybe," he responded, having heard me through the bond, "but as far as fates go… Getting hit on by a beautiful woman on occasion is fine with me."

I shoved him, standing to my feet and moving towards the door.

"I'm gonna call my mom, so she won't worry when I'm home late. You know how to let me know if you need me?" I told him.

"It might be easier to tell you when I don't," he replied, "you're a great partner."

His eyes showed an interesting combination of surprise and embarrassment , declaring "I hadn't meant to say that" as surely as if he'd said it. I had to respond.

"Well, thanks. You're…" I paused and found myself really looking at him for the first time in a few days. His was hair blond but dark enough to be respectable. His green eyes told stories of a soul ill used and torn, but as every moment I'd spent with him flashed before my eyes in the space of a second, I saw it. He was… "beautiful. You're beautiful, Jamie."

It was truer than I'd known before that instant.

We locked eyes for a moment, and Izzy and Jack, and the house, and the world seemed to go away. I felt for a moment something familiar and fierce and dangerous; something beautiful. It was more than love-gone-wrong, more than grief, more than a breakup that had played out like a murder-suicide, and looking into his eyes I wondered if it could be more than half-a-soul-sacrificed-in-the-pursuit-of- another-man's-justice, more than her.

I broke the moment, running for the front porch of the house to call my mother and gather my wits about me.

_What the hell_, I thought to myself as I shifted forms to do a lap in the air above the house, hoping that flight would ease my mind. _What the hell __**was **__that?_

Don't look at me like that.

I really couldn't have known it then.

It's always so easy when you go back and tell the story with the ending and the time after to give context, to help figure things out. I couldn't know it then, but I understand now. That moment, that instant of pure and unadulterated "more", was the exact second when my I lost my heart to Jamie Stevens.

Because life was and always will be a bitch, and because I was a rather stubborn brand of the same, I have to admit that for all that I fell for him with a simple exchange of glances, it would take far more than that for me to even consider the possibility.

My mom was more than a little worried when I called her on her cell phone. She was at work because it was only an hour or so after lunch time and I usually didn't call during the day, but heaven only knew how long it would take to catch and question the spy. Better to worry her before the pack and the police were both sent to search for me.

I was sitting on the roof, because I could be and because I didn't feel like sitting on the ground just yet. The roof of the Stevens's one floor home was peaceful in spite of the turmoil of its inhabitants and I was new enough to the group that understanding their feelings didn't mean sharing them, so…it didn't suck to get away.

What did suck was trying to explain to both an Elder and a Mother what I was doing in a way that wouldn't upset her and wouldn't invite trouble into the tenuous alliance between the Watchers and La Push.

"It's just an in house problem that needs attention, Mom, nothing that'll take too long to help with," I re-assured.

" What sort of in house problem?" she asked.

"I can't say, Mom. It's not my dirty laundry to air. Nothing that affects the Pack. I promise."

"And there's no way that you could defer this to someone else?"

"Not without abandoning my… my partner, and my new friends," I told her, "and I won't do that if I can help it."

"Do what you have to do, Leah," she sighed in defeat, "just be safe and if you're not actively in the middle of fighting, you'd better be in school on Monday."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Call when you can, I have to get back to work now," she finished. The worry in her voice touched some part of me inside, and I wondered if she'd been just as scared for me when I ran with the pack.

I leaned back against the hard roof tiles and watched the sky for a while.

It wasn't long before I heard Izzy on the front porch below me.

"Leah?"

I transformed into a cat and jumped down, landing awkwardly, but unharmed on my feet before shifting back.

"We ready to get started?" I asked, straightening my shirt and schooling my features.

"Soon. Is all of this crazy or what?" she said looking to me with familiarity.

"Getting drawn into an epic drama of love and betrayal by luck of the draw on soul halve? risking my life to seek justice for a woman I'll never meet?...Just a bit."

I smiled realizing how similar our situations were.

"Do you feel like one of them yet?" I asked, sitting on the steps. After a beat, she joined me.

"Yeah, kind of. They helped put me back together after Edward showed me how weak I'd been. I feel safe with them. You and Jamie seem to be getting along ok."

"When I'm not knocking the sense into him, yeah," I replied, though she'd been too polite to ask. "Is his brother any better?"

"He's wonderful… when he's not being a clingy, pompous, little brat. I love him though, and he does seem to be learning, due in large parts to Jamie," she grinned, " You're lucky. Alex trained him up good."

"And then she left him broken. Was she everything he remembers her to be?" I asked. I knew the depth of his loss, and I'd felt the edges of hole she'd left behind even as I'd begun to make that space mine, but I still wanted to hear her say it.

"Maybe more," Izzy replied, "maybe less. Does it matter? Love sees through different eyes."

I wondered vaguely how long it would take me to learn to accept that.

I nodded to show that I'd heard her and then she looked away for a moment before turning back to me and announcing that it was time to go inside.

We met everyone else in Mr. Stevens's study. They were all standing around the phone, which was set on speaker, as various voices in different languages expressed what sounded like anger and shock.

"We're all here," Ms. Stevens announced, and the voices settled.

"There has been much in these past years that has violated the rules of our organization," Mr. Stevens began firmly, " Many shadows formed in this, our circle of light. In the interest of casting out those shadows, I demand to know. Why were we going after the volturi before now? If we've only known for about an hour that they killed one of us, why were they a threat before?"

There was a thick silence before a man whose voice I recognized as that of Mac's father answered.

"We knew that the Volturi were responsible for Alexandra's death, learned it from traffic cam footage within days. The one they called Demetri, from their guard, orchestrated the crash and then snapped her neck as the airbags deployed, to hide their involvement."

Mac's mother continued, " We kept the knowledge from your family because Jamie's death by their hands is, like your vampire friend's, one that would throw off the balance of the world; too important to waste on a futile attempt at revenge. Not to mention that Jamie was too well loved to lose so soon after Alex."

"I wouldn't have-" Jamie started, taken aback.

"Yes, You would have," a mix of about thirty voices tumbled out at him in response.

"You'd have taken revenge or died trying," Mac told him, looking up into his eyes, "I've known you my whole life. I knew you with her. Grief has mellowed you a touch, but in those first days… all of the anger you turned on yourself… those scars on your arms are proof that you've have done it."

A man with a European accent got us back on track, " You have Mac and Wes, I move that the watchers of Western North America and their guests apprehend and question Andrew Phillips. I also move that all heads present begin to devise a list of punishments for him should he be found beyond doubt to have betrayed us. We can reconvene and vote after you question him."

"Let's vote," I suggested. Then Jamie touched my arm to get my attention . I ignored the sudden warmth I felt in favor of noticing that he was gesturing for me to continue.

The words felt new and stiff as I spoke them, taking charge of the vote.

"Let those of us who stand in our renewed circle of light proclaim aye three times if the plan can move forward as stated."

The vote was unanimous, the plans set as if in stone.

The call ended a moment later and Ms. Stevens asked us all to sit down.

Once we were settled she began to speak.

"We've been given our task and now it is left to us to choose how to carry it out. Andrew's match power is the ability to make people not see him. He alters the perceptions of those around him to make himself practically invisible."

Mr. Stevens continued, "the two of us can level the playing field, because our joint power can turn his ability against him, making it so that while he uses it he won't be able to see us either."

"Mac could-" wes picked up the conversation and our strategy took shape.

As we were finishing up, Izzy got a call from Alice Cullen.

"Got it, we'll head out soon," she said into the phone. Then she addressed the rest of us, "Time to go."

Mac and Wes took each other's hands and the rest of us found places along their arms to touch.

In preparation for the actions to come, we all sunk just a little into our respective bonds, and as world blurred and we shifted through space. We were joined in contact and by shared intention, to find the man responsible for the murder of Jamie's Match.

* * *

Hey guys, **I'm** so so so so very very very **Sorry.** It's taken unspeakably long for me to feel like working on this chapter, summer hit and some personal issues had me feeling down and then it hit me that I could have done a better job with this story and I had all kinds of regrets regarding how I timed some things in this and… yeah. I promise you all that I will bring this story to the best conclusion I can give it. I will finish this story no matter how long I seem to disappear for.

That said, I think that working on the outtakes would help me finish the story a little faster ( having something else to work on when I hit writers block moments) so please send me your ideas for short (think about a page long) scenes involving these characters that you'd like to see. i need characters and a situation. Anyone can send me outtake requests but only the top three reviewers can be absolutely sure that I'll work with them and write what they asked for. All outtakes will be posted soon after the last chapter of this fic.

Once again I'm sorry that this took so long, and the next chapter will be up as soon as I finish it.

You're welcome as always to review, and if you would please message me with outtake requests (if you leave them in the reviews you ruin the surprise for everyone else).

Ps. SORRY!


	21. Jamie and ends beginning or Spy II

The gravestones loomed large and Gothic, eerily forbidding from where we appeared at the cemetery gates.

Long shadows cast by the setting sun obscured the dates carved into the stone and made the loving epitaphs of mourners seem as sinister as the curses of souls lingering in bitterness. It seemed as though we were walking into another world, an older one.

We strode in like avenging angels, forming a triangle with our pairs. Leah and I were up front, with Jack and Izzy a few steps over and back on our left, with Mac and Wes on our right. My parents were behind us, preparing even as they walked to turn their power against a man they'd once embraced as a brother.

Carefully we wove our way around graves and crypts until we reached a monument near the western edge of the cemetery, and the tall stone angel with the Reese family's names engraved on the plaque at its base. Just in front of it, on his knees with his face in his hands, sat Andrew Phillips, the man that I'd trusted as a family friend and fellow Watcher; the spy who'd handed the better part of my soul to the monsters who'd killed his first love.

The world stopped for a moment.

I saw him and then looked past him finding Emilia's name on the plaque. I'd been curious as to why her grave had named her Emily, or why Alice had seen the name written wrong. A 'y' had been scratched crudely into the stone over the 'ia'.

"It's almost over Emily," Andrew whispered, "the battleground is set. The Voturi will die for killing you; I swear it. Justice will be yours."

I felt something in me chill, and I couldn't help the words that I spoke.

"And Alexandra's?" I asked coldly, darkly pleased at how he jumped at the sound of my voice, "Will she have justice too?"

He turned quickly, dark curly hair falling away from wide blue eyes as he shifted back against the stone angel behind him, as if for protection.

"No sin without consequence, Uncle," Mac murmured with a mean kind of sadness in his voice .

"Will you submit to questioning by us, your fellow Watchers, for crimes against a fallen comrade?" Wes intoned at his side.

For a moment Andrew seemed calm.

"All I ever wanted was to see them pay for hurting her," he said candidly. " but she was not my match, so my love meant nothing. She was not needed for the balance, so her life meant nothing. She was just a girl, just a meal."

His eyes narrowed but then his face relaxed and he said blankly, "She was nothing to you, so that's what you'll get from me. Nothing."

He seemed to flicker out of existence, and Izzy, unaffected by his power, which made him invisible by altering perceptions, took off after him. In an instant the chase was on.

My parents joined hands and began to use their joint power, turning his power on him and making us as invisible to him as he was to us. Jack, Leah and I took off after Izzy, Leah stopping to transform into a hawk and flying over my head.

Meanwhile Wes and Mac teleported to the gates of the cemetery, where Wes formed a type of psychic fence that would let her sense if he made it out of the cemetery. Making the fence stretched her powers to thin to stop him, but it would ensure that we wouldn't waste time looking for him if he'd escaped.

We stumbled after him, following Izzy's lead around tombstones and past mausoleums.

Izzy was reaching after him, trying to grab hold of him when suddenly she screamed and tripped over a stone cross. Her hands scrubbed at her eyes.

"Izzy!" Jack yelled, as he grabbed at her hands, trying to see what was wrong.

"He pepper sprayed me! Get him!"

Leah and I continued the chase. She shifted forms, dropping from the air and becoming a wolf as she landed. She used scent to track him, and we followed him as he ran toward the edge of the cemetery farthest from Wes.

Every few feet Leah moved as if to pounce but Andrew was smart, dodging in front of tall stone monuments or open graves. Leah stumbled and ran into a gravestone or two but his scent, strong as he ran, drew her ever nearer to him.

The edge was in sight and Leah moved to end the chase. She leapt just as Andrew flickered into view, wanting to see where we were. He ran towards me, trying to avoid being landed on by Leah, and Mac swept in from the side knocking him over.

I ran up and helped Mac hold him.

"Stop struggling, Uncle Andrew," Mac whispered as he pulled out his red iPod and it's matching headphones, and used the music to help him project enough calm. Soon enough, Andrew was asleep on the ground.

* * *

Wes floated him ahead of us as we walked back through the cemetery to find my mother helping Izzy rinse her eyes with a water bottle, while my father watched for our return. Leah had shifted into a small bird and ridden back on my shoulder. She hopped off and took human form as we approached them.

"You ok, Izzy?" she asked, reaching down and offering her a hand up.

"You bet," she replied wiping at the water on her face before taking Leah's and allowing herself to be pulled up. "My ankle stings a bit but I'll live."

"No other injuries?" my mother asked, looking us all up and down.

"Sore feet and tired arms seem to be the sum of it," I replied, looking around at the group, "let's get Andy here back for questioning."

Jack and I grabbed Andy's arms and we all found points of contact along Mac's and Wes's arms and shoulders. An instant later we were in my parent's living room.

Wes's eyes went slightly unfocused as she separated from Mac and put her hand to a wall, closing her eyes.

With grim fascination we watched as the handle disappeared from the door and the lines from the door way smoothed. Around us windows were sealing shut and vents changed shape in ways that let air through but wouldn't let so much as a hair out of the building. Mac focused on keeping Andy asleep until we were prepared to deal with him.

"Ms. Stevens," Wes startled us, speaking in a haunting monotone, "if you like that wind-chime hanging in your bedroom window, it'll have to be moved so that I can finish."

My mother ran off to do that and I stood glancing between Wes and Izzy. With Wes's eyes closed the two were twins. It was a wonder that two people could look so similar and wield power so differently. Wes is power. Her abilities are like arms hanging restlessly at her side or raised and benignly active as she moves about, changing the space subtly to suite her just as Wes's unstoppable nature alters an interaction. Izzy has power. Izzy's powers are less consciously controlled, she can choose to sleep but she'd have to eventually anyway. She can choose to take her shield and Jack's love and presence to help make their safe place, which guards against more than her shield alone, but the protection from mental attacks is like a physical structure in her brain. They use their skills like day and night and as watched them that day, I was happier than you can know that they were on our side; because they worked together without effort, and because with Jack and Mac at their sides, the world could be theirs within weeks.

"The house is secure, and looks normal from the outside. No one gets out without my help, and not even that for about an hour, please," Wes murmured, sliding down the wall in exhaustion.

Mac rushed to her aid as my mother returned, couple of sheets of paper and a digital voice recorder in hand. There were 4 sets of handcuffs hanging over her arm.

"I have the Watchers' questions," she said, her voice was near emotionless with bits of pain edging in. she'd loved Andy like a brother. This wouldn't be easy. "Lock him down, and wake him up."

Jack and I cuffed his arms and legs to a chair; a heavy, metal one that my father pulled out of a closet in their room.

Leah grabbed a glass from the kitchen and filled it with water and some ice from the freezer before walking over and dumping it on Andrew's head.

He woke up sputtering.

Mom started the recorder and Jack pulled a chair up across from him.

"You are aware of my son's power. He can see the truth in human eyes, and in those of some species greater and," she looked pointedly at Andrew, "lesser. If you look away from his eyes while you speak, your words will be counted as false. Are we clear?"

"Mary you have to know-" he tried to say, but was interrupted.

"Are. We. Clear." My father asked, standing behind him.

Andrew gave up, muttering, "very."

My father looked to me, catching my eye and nodding. When there was no danger lurking, new Watcher were typically taught protocol fairly early on. I knew what I had to do.

My parents sat down to make room and Leah and I took their places. I stood in front of Andrew, to the right of Jack's chair. Leah stood directly behind him.

"Andrew Philips," I said formally, "What is the current status of your Match bond with your wife, Rebecca?"

"Dissolved. For years now," he replied, looking a little defiant as he stared into Jack's eyes.

Jack added, "They ended the bond within days of finishing their training, it was his idea, though she did agree to hide it so that they could go on serving with the Watchers."

"Have you acquired a new Match since the dissolution of your first?" I continued.

"No, there's no one you need to fetch to sit beside me," he said, quietly irritated, "Skip to the good parts, why don't you?"

Leah shifted into a wolf and before putting her front paws on the back of the chair and growling low into his ear. Fear flashed in his eyes and he murmured an apology. I couldn't bring myself to feel anything, not amusement or pity, for him just then. Leah shifted back to human.

I took a deep breath and tried to summon some authority into my voice. The questioning was about to begin for real, and it looked like my parents were going to leave the questioning to me and Leah.

"Andrew, you stand accused of giving the Volturi information that led to the murder of Alexandra Abdima, an in-training Watcher of the American West, and my first Match," I said, then looked up into Leah's eyes and settling into the bond so that I could send her the right words.

"The charges against you are brought by us, her family in the eyes of our organization," Leah continued. " They are brought following an investigation carried out by all but the heads of this family, in the interests of setting straight the record, and righting the wrongs that have led some amongst us to harbor dangerous mistrust for our traditions and for those that we fight beside. There is one amongst us whose ability to see truth will move these proceedings along. Jack, do you swear on the wholeness of your bond and on the life of your Match that you will tell the truth?"

"I swear it," Jack announced.

"Then Andrew," I asked, "Did you hand Alexandra over to the Volturi?"

For a time he just looked at us, like he couldn't comprehend that this could be real, that he could be tried by this, a tribunal of Watchers a generation younger than himself, like he was sorry it'd gotten this far. He closed his eyes and then opened them and something seemed to give way inside of him.

"Yes. It had to be done. I regret that it had to be her," he replied.

"He believes that," Jack confirmed.

"Why did it have to-" I started but Wes interrupted me.

"Tell the story Andrew, before they protocol this into a three hour question and answer session."

That startled a laugh out him, though it sounded more like a sob.

"Elizabeth Wesley, always straight to the point, no matter where we send you. Fine. May I confess and explain, Jamie? Leah?"

"Please do," Leah hissed from behind him.

He closed his eyes again, letting his head rest on his chest and breathing in and out before he began.

"I did this for her," he started.

"For Emilia," Jack clarified.

"Her name was Emily. I called her Emily. She was born 'Emilia' and in death she's 'Emilia', but in my heart she's Emily. She was beautiful and strong and smart and perfect, and then one day she was gone, disappeared with the rest of her family on a trip to Italy.

I waited so long for them to find her. I saw her everywhere but she was gone. For a time, I let her go.

Then one day, about twenty years ago I met a woman, in the library where she was stocking books. I saw dark eyes and hair like my Emily's and I felt like I was whole. I thought she'd finally come back to me. she hadn't. It was Rebecca, and I was meeting her for the first time. The wrong girl again, just as it been so often in those months after Emily disappeared, but I felt drawn to Rebecca somehow so we dated, and then weird things started to happen and I went to my parents to ask for the knowledge that would welcome me into my family's hidden life.

I didn't connect the dots until after we'd finished training.

She'd disappeared in Italy. The Volturi lived and fed in Italy. They had to have killed her. I went through a box of old papers. She'd given me her itinerary so I could imagine what she'd be up to.

Item seven was a tour of Volterra.

I followed protocol. I requested that the Watchers take action against the Volturi for killing Emily.

They all but laughed in my face. How many had the volturi killed to live? And how many vampires had they killed, saving us the work of several wars? Emily was not one of us, not a Watcher and therefore was unworthy of our vengeance.

They didn't care about Emily, and I couldn't just let her killers walk free.

I decided, then and there, that at the first opportunity I would take my revenge.

They hadn't cared about a civilian, so a Watcher would have to die, and at the hands of the Volturi. Then they'd care. Then they'd claim vengeance that Emily deserved, and the Volturi would never gaze out over their empire with those eyes made red by her blood.

I just needed a Watcher that they would see as a threat. Years passed and I waited but no one seemed perfect until…"

He paused and looked down ashamed.

"Eyes on me," Jack scolded him.

Slowly he raised his eyes to meet Jack's. Jack gasped loudly, his eyes narrowing.

"Tell her," Jack hissed to him, "tell her or I will and no one will stop them, however they react."

I looked down at my brother, startled by his sudden intensity, and then Andrew continued.

"No one seemed perfect until my brother had me over to dinner one night when I was in town on Watcher business and told me that little Elizabeth Alders, Wes, who'd been hanging around my nephew for years, was his Match, and she had the power to literally topple empires."

"Why not just use me then?" Wes asked in a tone that was frighteningly calm, in part because of small items all around the room that were beginning to twitch. "Why wait years to take your revenge if I was there?"

"Because I couldn't do that to you and Mac. The two of you had been friends for so long that no one could imagine him without you. By the time it occurred to you to ask the question and become Watchers you acted as much like halves of a single body as you were halves of a soul. How could I take that from you? from my brother's son? And to do it by killing the force of nature that had kept you smiling and laughing, Mac? Think what you have to about me, but never believe that I don't care about you."

I glanced over at them. They were pale but looking at each other with the fondness of an old married couple, affection warring with anger and sadness in their postures because their friendship had saved them. I looked at their joined hands and I wondered briefly if Leah and I could ever hope to be so close. Feeling her gaze on my face I looked up and met them and was startled by the warm affirmation that I barely avoided speaking aloud. We could. First though, we'd have to finish the questioning.

"Continue," my father ordered from his place on the couch.

"Since I couldn't strike so close to home, I waited. I got more and more anxious concerning the odds of another powerful Watcher coming in. I swore to myself that the next one who felt right would be the one. No more mercy, and no more time for the Volturi to go on unpunished.

It seemed as though it must be my ongoing burden to contemplate hurting the ones I loved though, because sometime later at another family gathering, this time here, I met Alexandra, and I knew that she was the one. Capable of lighting them on fire with barely a thought, of starting a fire within them to kill them slowly, burned from the inside out… she'd have been their worst fear in time.

I went to Volterra and refreshed their long memories about the Watchers, then gave them the address of the cousin that Alexandra had mentioned she'd be visiting. I fed them stories about a coming war and how I wanted only to be on the winning side. I expected them to slaughter her and her family. to leave some sign that the Watchers couldn't mistake. I settled for the traffic cam video of the accident. I reported to the Watchers that the volturi had killed Alexandra, then they decided to act against the Volturi."

"Why weren't we told that they'd killed Alex?" My mother asked, moments after Andrew finished speaking.

"Because of Jamie, he'd have run off and tried to avenge her and died," he replied, admiration making its way into his voice. "He is needed. Like your friend Edward, if the Volturi had killed him before his time, the balance would be set on a path to destruction. They lied, collectively, to you all. There are no saints amongst the Watchers, even Mac and Wes were supposed to be told. You two are no better than-"

"They," Izzy interrupted him, "are best of us all. They refused to find out rather than lie to their friends. Brother dearest, would you say that the questioning is done?"

I thought about everything; about Alexandra, who died because of this twisted plot for revenge against the Volturi, whose death had been a strike back at the Watchers who'd refused his plan the first time. I thought about the calls I'd been shut out of, the lies of omission they'd told my family, and the power I'd given up in the months and years since her death, the scars on my arms from my self-destructive grief. I thought about Leah, and this new life born from the place that Alex had left and it was all that I could do to stay standing.

"We're done," Leah answered and the recorder was turned off.

In the echoing silence after that, I fell to my knees, incapable of processing all that was rising within me, incapable of holding all of that and hatred for Andrew at the same time.

"How could you?" I whispered brokenly as the warmth of Leah's hand on my shoulder gave evidence that she'd moved to my side. Hot tears were gathering in my eyes but through the blur of them I watched as my mother and father rose to confront their once dear friend. Tears ran down my mother's face as she said words that hit him as hard as a slap.

"She was going to be my daughter."

"Our daughter," my father added.

Wes stood, strong again after the rest, and backhanded him across the mouth.

"You were going to give them me. You chose my friend; my good, loyal, strong, friend. Go to Hell, and so help me I'd send you there myself, if the Watchers would allow it."

She moved to hit him again but Mac moved in front of her.

"I hope," he said with subtle malice," that you will be granted mercy equal to what you have shown."

" She was my sister," Izzy threw in.

"And mine," Jack added.

"My freedom," Leah added after a moment's quiet, "Her death was the cost of my second chance, but it wasn't your life to bargain with. A happy accident of fate doesn't make this right. Nothing can undo what you've done."

It was my time to say my peace.

"You have never loved like I loved her. Never. I felt her life. I would have felt the lives of our children and grandchildren but that's gone now. She is gone now and I feel the earth that embraces her. She was my Match. I know how little that means to you but she was my soul."

His wrists were still cuffed to the chair. I moved behind him, pressing the scars on my arms against his palms. His fingers traced clumsily along the deep ones.

"I loved her deeply, and felt her absence deeper than I could make knives reach," I whispered fiercely into his ear. "My love for her was worth more to me than the blood that spilled from those wounds."

His hands stopped their exploring, fingers wincing as though shocked. I stood and faced him.

"I hope that the Watchers do grant you mercy, all the mercy in their hearts and in ours, because you will never be loved like she loved me. Her love gave me a second chance, and I have no need of your blood, or your tears, or your life, or your death. I have known what you discounted in your wasteful longing for a girl you couldn't save, and maybe someday I'll know it again. I -"

I faltered, looking up into Leah's eyes and seeing tears that she was holding back, but also seeing there a kind of surprised hope, gave me the strength to finish.

"I will enforce whatever is decided, but don't you dare think that you are important enough for me to enjoy your pain. You'll get what you wanted. She was nothing to us, and you'll be nothing to me. Whatever happens, whatever they decide, goodbye Andrew."

Mac, ever the cultured one with his appreciation for dramatic timing, used his power and within moments Andrew was sleeping.

My parents conferred with Jack on the truthfulness of Andrew's statement then went off to send Andrew's confession by internet and we all moved to sit around Wes as she lifted a hand to the wall and unsealed the doors and windows.

Leah sat next to me and I reached over and took her hand in mine. My heart sped up, and god, does love have weird timing or what? I watched our hands and her face for a while.

"You're staring at me," she whispered.

"As long as I eventually meet those pretty eyes of yours, I think it'll be ok," I whispered back, and then I let my head rest on her shoulder. I felt a hand on my foot and looked up to see Izzy smiling at me, weakly, an expression mirrored by Jack, Wes and Mac. We all settled into the support of bonds literal and figurative, of Matches, and of friends and family, and Leah and I began, consciously for the first time, to embrace this new sense of what we could be. Mac and Wes, My parents, and even Izzy and Jack were proof that it could be amazing to let the bond take you where it would, and now we were going to let it. The time to fight, and to act would come soon, all we could do then was wait.

* * *

I know, it's late, but this is the best I could make this chapter **and I'm not above begging for you guys to review**. Please send me your **outtake ideas** because we're starting to wind down.

School has to be my first priority but it's easier for me to feel like dedicating my free time to this story when I have proof that someone besides me is still reading it.

**Next up**: The Watchers conference and punishments are decided, maybe a different point of view, but I need to think about it.

**As an incentive to review**, anyone who sends me a review can include a name that they would like to have used by a Watcher, and **if I get 5 reviews by Friday(on this or any chapter) I will work over the weekend to get the next chapter out by Tuesday**, if I don't then I'll finish when I finish and I hope you'll hang in there and be patient with me.

Ps. Sorry for any grammar / typing mistakes, I edited this pretty quickly


	22. Leah and Calls or The calm before I

Hey, you've been listening for a while. I hope you'd tell us if you need a break, but I'm glad you've stuck with us. it's hard to get through all this and losing momentum wouldn't ease the telling. I'm lifting out of the story now to remind you that I didn't know a lot of Watchers at the start of this. I thought about letting Jamie or Jack tell this part, because they knew better who people were at that time, but it's my turn and I want it. till now we've all tried to let you meet people the way we did, through our own eyes from the points of view that we held at the time. That worked when it was just a few new friends, but … you'll see. I might just skip the formalities from here on out then, I've never been much for formalities, so I don't suppose you'll expect them. for now just trust that if I call someone by a name you've never heard, I learned it later. Cool? Good. Let's continue.

Waiting is a…a bit nice actually.

For about half an hour after the interrogation, we all sat in pairs on the floor, filling up on "warm-fuzzies" as Wes would put it. It would be an accurate description too, because the longer we sat together, absorbed in our Matches and occasionally looking up and seeing our haphazard group of new friends together and happy, the further away the unresolved darkness seemed. It was a pleasant rest after the difficult unraveling of Andrew's betrayal, but, life's a bitch. Our peace could only be short lived.

Around the world, if my new understanding of procedure could be trusted, Watchers were listening to Andrews confession and tailoring the list of punishments they'd thought up to his specific offenses. They were preparing to come together by phone to decide his fate, and we couldn't be lazy for long.

Mac stood, stretching, before offering a hand to help Wes up.

"Jack, mind if I share your room so the guest room can be Andrew's holding cell?" he asked, his face darkening as he said his uncle's name.

"Sounds like the best option," Jack replied.

"Do you need help moving your stuff?" Izzy added, helpfully.

Mac nodded, and Wes looked like she might protest but Mac reminded her that she'd have to seal the room once Andrew was in it, and she relented.

Jamie and I were the last ones to move. He squeezed my hand and nudged my cheek with his nose as he lifted his head from my shoulder. I felt a warm rush of the same "more" feeling from before and let a small smile touch my features. Then I stood and went to stand in front of Andrew's still sleeping form, keeping an eye on him as I watched the others move things out of the guest room. Jamie leaned against the wall a moment longer before standing and moving towards the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he gathered things to make a sandwich.

"Grab the copy of the Unseen Book from the shelf in the study," he suggested, "I'll watch him."

Curious, I went to do that, stepping around Wes as she walked through the hall with a stack of CDs. The elder Stevens were in there when I arrived, Ms. Stevens making phone calls and Mr. Stevens working at a laptop on his desk.

Mary idly reached up to a shelf behind her and passed me a copy of the unseen book without looking. I mouthed a thank you before returning to the kitchen and offering Jamie the book. He shook his head.

"Look at the last page in the procedure section and read it aloud," he instructed as he finished making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I opened the book to the suggested page and began reading.

"The list of rules for human captives of Watchers: Torture (unless it's been agreed upon as punishment) 2. Food and facilities are to be made available at regular intervals. 3. If the captive is a Watcher their Match must be allowed some form of non-contact visitation. 4. No taunting the captive.5… Oh, so you're making him dinner," I realized, as Jamie ran tap water into a paper cup and went to place it, and the sandwich, in the converted temporary holding cell.

Then he called out to his family, "Can we get the handcuff keys, Andy's entitled to a potty break before we shut him in for the night. Jack, Izzy, would you get any potential weapons out first? Just pile them up in a corner in my room. "

I stifled a smile.

This was not the same eye-drop fetcher who'd gone submissively along with his brother and eventual sister-in-law's plans back during the action against Victoria. Jamie was becoming a leader. Dimly a vision of the future arose in my mind, our children with Matches following our lead in protecting the world. I let it fade. We were getting closer but it was too soon still to be thinking like that, too soon to point out that the low numbers of Watchers in the North American West was a hazard, and that that meant that the next generation of Watchers would have to be bigger… I contented myself with the knowledge that he was healing now, fortified by the answers that had been long owed to him.

With any luck we'd make it through the rest of this without dying and maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't be the most damaged, emo Match-up in the history of the world anymore.

Andrew Philips was allowed to wake up and taken to the bathroom before being sealed into the guest room, then Ms. Stevens came out of the study, followed by her husband.

"The Conference call to discuss Andrew's fate will begin in about an hour," Joshua Stevens informed us solemnly, " Mac, your parents will call within that hour. They've elected to answer our questions regarding the rest of the organization's role in hiding information from us."

"Dinner should be warm soon," Mary added, "you'll all have time to eat first."

The two of them rushed dinner onto plates for us and a half hour later we were waiting in the study when the phone rang.

Jamie pressed the speakerphone button.

"Western Watchers, Michael and Elizabeth Wesley?" Mac's mom asked.

"All present, it's still Mac and Wes, Mom," Mac answered, "You're on speaker phone."

"Good, Mary, Joshua, we'll take questions on behalf of the Watchers now," Jonathan Philips informed them.

"You lied to us about the death of our daughter-in-love," Mary stated, a cold but calm anger specific to mothers and murderers lacing her tone.

I restrained the vague urge to point out that that wasn't a question.

"We did it to save your son, and the world," Deborah Philips replied, pained. "Neither seemed on firm ground after Alex died, you'll remember."

"No, Debbie, you'll remember. you'll remember that honesty is the only way the Watchers function properly. And you'll remember that Jamie is here and doesn't deserve you bluntness on top of everything else. There were other ways to prevent disaster, in my grandfathers time we-"

"We what?"Jonathan interrupted, "We were saints and angels? We stood for something? My brother is locked in your house as a traitor. Justice, honesty, fairness, the bonds of a shared secret… some good those lofty ideals of ours will do him."

"He betrayed those ideals," Mary argued, "as did you by lying to us. In weeks our children surpassed what the organization could do with years, without your deception think how much sooner they'd have caught the spy."

?Who would have caught the spy? Jack, who'd yet to find his match, or Jamie who was being driven mad by his own power? You Stevens's are consistent. Your grandfather was an idealist, and so was your mother, and now you. Don't think that you were the first the Watchers have lied to, just the latest."

"So that's all the Watchers can offer us?" Joshua asked breaking up the argument " a suggestion that we pay lip service to old values and be content with being lied to and cast aside?"

"There's nothing else to be had, old friends. We're still strong and with our might we'll ensure the balance," Deborah replied.

"There was a time when we'd have done it with our truth, and with wisdom," Mary replied, " so help me if I live a day after this current action, I 'll make sure that we operate that way again. you'll hear from us at roll call."

Then she lifted the phone handle specifically so that she could slam it down, audibly hanging up.

The Watchers had more problems than we'd known, and life was a bitch, because it figures that I'd hop on their train just when it needed repairs the most.

* * *

Jamie needs something from me but I'll be right back to continue, I promise. Men are such babies sometimes.

* * *

So guys I promised and I'm trying to live up to that promise but in order to get this out today I'm having to put this chapter up in two parts, the second of which will be out likely by around Sunday sorry it's not a whole chapter but work came up and school comes first, see you on or before Sunday! forgive typos as always


	23. Leah and Bones or The calm before II

Back! Some old friends called to check in on us and Jamie didn't want me to miss hearing from them. You'll be hearing about them soon actually. So let's get going.

* * *

For a long time after hanging up, Ms. Stevens sat murmuring to herself.

"How did it get… I thought…it's all wrong."

"We'll fix it," Josh said, trying to reassure his wife, but I wondered if he could really understand her dismay.

Could any of them understand how harsh the reality behind a myth could be? I knew how she felt. I'd been raised with stories about men who became wolves to protect us and fight the cold ones, and the reality had been darker and more complicated than I knew.

I reached a tentative hand to her, standing up and offering to help her to do the same.

When she didn't respond I took her hand and pulled her up.

"That knock the fight out of you, Ms. Stevens?" I asked her a little gruffly, my hand still in hers.

She seemed shaken for a moment, but a small smile moved into place before she replied, "It's Mary, and no, Leah, not all of it. Come with me, we've got some time to talk before the conference call. "

She led me out into the hallway and into her and her husband's bedroom. She opened a large walk in closet and beckoned me in. displayed on the walls were old photos and weapons and binoculars.

"I like you, Leah," she told me, offhandedly, while gesturing for me to have a look around, "we've been talking about Alex so much lately, I know it would be easy for you to feel like our grief for her makes you unwelcome, but that's far from accurate."

"I get it," I replied, "she seems pretty amazing but… I'm…"

Part of me wanted to use one of those words that Jamie couldn't help connecting to me, like fierce or beautiful or dangerous, but some things shouldn't be announce to a guy's mother.

"I'm different," I finished.

"You are," she replied grinning. "My sons don't quite understand yet, though they will in time, what it is to be born into a role, and a legacy like this. I think women have an easier time of it, so Izzy might feel the weight of fate before Jack does, but you? You come to us with a legacy and a culture of your own, and strength and pride that I'll spend many of my remaining years drilling into my sons and my other new daughter. Trust Leah, you come to us as more of a gift than you know. Alexandra, Goddess rest her soul and this is the very last time that I will deign to compare you to her this way, but she had it in her to shield my Jamie from all harm. She'd been the never fading light in his world, and kept him warm and loved."

She closed her eyes and reached up pulling a white ring with a strange metal intricacies covering its surface from a hook, the first of many rings I noticed suddenly, that were lined up on the walls near the ceiling. She pressed it into my hand, holding it there.

"You will not be his light, Leah. You'll be his bones, the strength at the heart of him. You've made him stronger already and I don't have to worry that it's short lived because you're here, and I have all the confidence that you'll stay."

The ring, held still between my hand and hers was growing warmer, taking heat faster than I thought it should in the same way that my heart was.

"This ring is one of my family's most prized possessions. It was made from a bone of a strong woman and warrior, one of the last native American Watchers of the west in our line, a line that follows the path of the secret that makes us Watchers, not just blood or genes. The metal on its surface is imbued with the ashes from the body of the first woman to bear the secret who was not tied by blood or culture to those before her

It is yours, Leah, for as long as you are with us. Wear it and know that difference is strength, and know that in return for everything that you bring to us by the sheer power of your presence, we offer you a place in our family and all the protection and recourses of our organization."

She said all of this warmly and I was struck silent for a moment, but then laughed as Mary changed gears completely.

"So how do you feel about pet-names within family?"

After that, I took part in the conversation. The ring, which I wore on the ring finger on my right hand was a warm reminder of everything that she'd said. About ten minutes into our conversation Izzy came and summoned us back to the study. The conference call was beginning.

* * *

"Colby?"

"Here."

Jonathan Philips was calling roll in his brother's stead when we entered the study.

"and Haydn?"

"At his side. The rave twins and the magic act are here too, and the rest of the Georgia watchers."

He continued calling roll but over the bond I asked Jamie about them.

_The rave twins and the magic act? _

_Some of the Eastern Watchers have nicknames for Matched pairs. The Georgia Watchers are an interesting case, and I'll explain later, or you can ask Mac or Wes. Haydn is Mac's cousin. He and Colby have been training them for a year now. _

The roll call continued for a bit, ending on a single name.

"Rebecca Philips?"

It was Andrew's former Match and his wife.

"Here and alone, but loved. Sorry to have deceived you, Jonathan."

"We'll talk soon."

A woman with a British accent started the meeting.

"Watchers we meet now for dire reasons. We come as always as lights in darkness, though dimmer lights now because as we have learned in recent hours, one among our numbers was responsible for the death of Alexandra Abdima, our dearly loved friend and new Watcher from the North American West. Andrew Philips was caught and questioned in ways prescribed by protocol and confessed to betraying Alexandra in order to force our hand. His actions successfully resulted in our planning action against the volturi, plans which are now too far along to scrapped. The Volturi must pay for Alex's death and we must defend our organization, but first it is within our power and our responsibility to force the traitor to pay. Tonight we decide his fate, and make choices about those that we'll send to fight alongside The Stevens and their Matches in the battle to come."

"First," a man with a similar accent continued, " proclaim aye three times if all are agreed that Andrew Philips is guilty of his stated crimes and any does not agree let her speak her peace and be heard."

There were no objections.

"Then refer to the list of punishments and we'll debate and vote on which is best," A man with a thick Russian accent picked up.

Mary handed each pair in the room a printed sheet with a list of punishments ranging from Amputation to servitude.

"Recall," the Russian man continued," that in accordance with our rules, young Jamie Stevens will be carrying this out and be merciful on him even as you make choices that will adequately punish Andrew. Amputation: Discuss."

"He removed a part of their family and their team, so he should lose something of himself," someone argued. Jamie stiffened next to me and I took hold of his hand.

"There's no way to do that that would hurt him without forcing Jamie to do something horrible. Cutting a limb from someone without pain killers or medical training? Why not just sentence Andrew to death and Jamie to years of intensive therapy," a more reasonable voice answered back.

A series of agreeing murmurs and comments about prosthetics limiting the actual amount harm involved even if one could get around the concept of Andrew dying of shock and blood loss during the process.

"Why not just sentence him to death? If we let him live, who's to say that he won't pull something like this again? His life for hers, and those we'll lose during the battle," a young woman with a southern accent suggested, "why are things like "Redemption ritual" even this list? He betrayed us!"

"We know," Wes scolded in response, "that's why we're talking about this. If the group felt moved to forgive, then we'd consider a redemption ritual. We're keeping the death sentence off the table for the moment for Jamie's sake and because several of Andrew's relatives are here and no one wants to make them listen to a graphic argument about the manner of Andrew's at Jamie's hands. I love you dear but we'll have to talk soon about conference call politics, k? thanks? Bye."

There were several snorts of repressed laughter in response to that and the debate went on. Servitude and Banishment where knocked down because no one wanted a traitor in their home and besides…

"Slavery is illegal in this country and we can't afford to use resources to keep it under cover," Jonathan added.

"No torture either," Izzy brought up. "He sees himself as a martyr, why give him something to be proud of enduring?"

"Well what the hell can we do then?" A man, Haydn Philips, if I was right in recognizing his voice sighed in frustration, "if anything that hurts him will just give him victory in the end."

Jamie had been silent throughout the debate, as had several people related to Andrew, like Mac and Rebecca. Now though he spoke.

"A task before imprisonment," Jamie suggested darkly and quietly, as others argued in the background. They didn't listen.

"Jamie has a suggestion," I announced loudly, "Will you here the suggestion of the one you'll force to carry out your punishment?"

By degrees the arguing ceased and Jamie quirked his lip up slightly, approximating a smile that he couldn't quite stretch to his eyes.

"Speak up Jamie," a woman with a French accent encouraged. Around the room we all tried to look more encouraging than curious.

"My suggestion is a task before imprisonment," Jamie said into the sudden vast silence after the woman's encouragement. "He started this thing, so let him finish it, on the front lines and facing the Volturi. Let him try to take the revenge that he's pulled us into, and if he survives the battle you can drop him into the lowest, darkest, dankest shit-hole of a prison that we have access to. Leave him their till he's an old man a copy of the unseen book and a family photo to remind him of his losses. If the blood thirsty young lady who was wondering why not just kill him likes, she can drag him off as a free snack for a young vampire herself after that, or you could let him stay there till he dies."

As Jamie spoke, he traced his scars, and I saw glimpses of a version of Jamie that I could believe had made them. I saw grief made fresh and how much it cost that part of him, dark and young, for whom Alex's death would always be recent, to be reasonable and to hold back the urge to kill Andrew with his bare hands.

Alex would have been his light, Ms. Stevens had told me, she'd have cast the darkness out and made him new, would have made the scars invisible by blinding the world with their smiles. I twisted the bone ring on my finger and I knew what I would do.

I closed my eyes and sank into the bond, ignoring the words of the Watchers debating his plan, and I offered him my strength to share, summoning the battles I'd lived through, the times I'd stood back up and asking him to do the same. The warm rush that he sent back made my heart jump.

When I opened my eyes the darkness was gone from his face, and Mary was giving me 'told you so' nods.

I tuned back in to the conversation to the sound of Rebecca Philips's voice.

"I understand that it's fair, but you're sending him to his death. He was our ally, he is my husband, I beg you for leniency!"

Joshua Stevens replied, "he gave them my daughter, our Alex. Leniency is letting him live. You know that. I move that we vote. Will Andrew be stationed on the front lines of war he started and then imprisoned for the rest of his life for crimes against our organization? Those who agree that this is fair, independent of all other concerns and biases, proclaim Aye in times numbering three."

There was a mix of Aye's and protests on the first call.

"What if it had been Wes? As he planned, or if you or your sons and daughters had been hurt by him directly? Wouldn't you want him to face the demons he'd summoned? Can there be a fairer choice?" Jonathan appealed to the crowd.

There were fewer protests on the second call and none on the third. Even Rebecca had consented to her husband's fate.

There was an uneasy quiet for a few minutes before Haydn spoke up.

"On to the next order of business, who will come to fight in the battle with the Volturi?"

"I recommend the Georgia Watchers, Haydn and I," Colby put forth. " their abilities are varied and with Hade and I using our Match power, which makes weapons of typically passive powers, they'd be an asset on the field of battle. Besides, the Philips family could use the small reunion."

"You'd have the battle be fought by still more teenagers?" a woman with more of an irish accent scoffed.

"You know many adults who can bunk on couches, take time from obligations, and learn new and complex strategies at the drop of a hat?" Wes argued, "And I've been training for longer than you. Age ain't nothin' but a number, ma'am. Colby, can they fight?"

"They've trained hard this year. I believe they are capable of anything; though if some with more experience would join the fray, I don't believe that there's a limit," he replied promptly.

"I'll volunteer," a woman with an Italian accent spoke up, "Alba Mariano, here. I age things, beings and objects. If the Volturi bring newborns I can make them old enough to dull their strength and hunger."

"I will volunteer with her, she is my Match and Wife. I am Niccolo Renzo, I can make a meal for two feed thousands, and lighten the burden of so much company, and I have practiced as a doctor for many years. Our joint ability makes us multiply," a man with a similar accent added and continued on, " I have watched the volturi for many years, it will be good to see them fall."

"And I, Indrani Inderjit, and my Match too," a woman added and the list continued.

Three more pairs were allowed to volunteer but with the allies, like the pack and the Cullens, and the rest of the world still to protect, we couldn't afford to put all of the Watchers most willing soldiers into this single battle.

There was more debate on the Georgia Watchers joining the effort but with the hour drawing late, the Watchers voted and the roster for those acting against the Volturi was made final. Traveling and sleeping arrangements would be worked out the next day.

"May our light be brighter and our hearts less troubled at the next call," someone closed the meeting.

"Would you like a ride home?" Mac asked, and Wes took his hand, centering herself to prepare to take me.

I squeezed Jamie's hand and muttered an awkward sounding goodnight before putting an arm around Wes's shoulder and feeling the floor blink in and out of existence under my feet.

As they vanished, leaving me in the living room at my house, I noticed my mom sitting up on the sofa. I walked over wordlessly and leaned against her before falling promptly to sleep. It was after midnight and the warmth of my mother against my side and the bone ring on my finger felt the same as I drifted off. Both were love in war time. Both were mine for as long as I could stay.

* * *

Here it is! The second chapter that I've gotten in on time (if will cooperate) in a while.

Thank you all for the reviews and special thanks to a specific reader who will remain nameless for things that will be unspoken of for now, but will make you all so excited to hear about when I decide to tell you.

Sorry for not replying to all the reviews personally, but getting the chapter written rated as more important.

Still waiting for outtake ideas, and I'll try to get another chapter by Sunday. Reviews will always make that easier, being late sucks when I know you guys are waiting. (forgive typos as usual)


	24. Jamie and Rest or Starting to Start

After the conference call, I went back to my room. It was very late and my mental world was in chaos. In just one day we'd discovered the identity of a traitor, pursued, caught, and questioned him, and met as an organization to decide his fate. I'd also announced my hope for a romantic future with Leah to my immediate family and best friends.

I was feeling too much to sleep. I wanted a distraction, so I ran back and caught Izzy before she and Wes could head out to Izzy's bike and ride home.

"Hey Izzy, mind calling Emmett and asking if he'd like to get his butt whooped at Grand Theft Auto?" I asked, knowing that Emmett would be awake.

Izzy's cell phone rang and she pulled it out to answer it.

After a moment, Izzy replied, "No need, he'll even come get you. Alice saw your request. Be careful and have fun."

"Thanks and goodnight. No roadside naps please."

Izzy smiled slightly at that and then hugged me briefly before straddling the bike and heading off down the road once Wes had established a firm hold on her.

Moments later, Emmett appeared out of nowhere, having run up when I wasn't paying attention.

"Hey Jamie!" Emmett greeted, happy and kind as always, "don't you guys usually sleep at this time of night?"

"Yeah. But I was a bit riled up and could drift off," I explained, "I figured you wouldn't mind the company."

Emmett grinned, "You figured right! Hop on my back and hold on tight. Might want to close your eyes too. I'll have us playing, and you losing before you know it."

I did as he requested and moments later we arrived at the Cullen's home, or rather in the Cullen's home. Emmet had run us straight to the entertainment center in the living room. He plopped me down next to a controller and turned on the game, not Grand Theft Auto, but the newest Halo game, and we were killing each other within minutes.

I was massacred for the sixth time before Emmett paused the game and turned to me.

"Jamie, do need to talk about something? Cause I don't think a blind man could suck as much as you do right now."

I laughed at his frankness and then replied, "I'm fine. It's just been a long day. Too much of everything and no time to process it all."

Emmett un-paused the game as he sighed, "I know what that's like. You know I fell for my Rose the first time I laid eyes on her, when I was dying on the ground after the bear mauled me. Three days later, I wake up and my life is over and just starting all at once."

I killed him on the game then moved my character to a new spot, hoping to catch him again.

"That must have been a real head trip. How'd you deal with it?"

He shot at me but I moved.

"I loved Rose. I tried to let go of my old friends and family, because mauled by a bear or bitten by a vampire, that life was over. My future was a Rose who, while eternally the most beautiful woman in the entire word was like looking at the sun in those first days when the sight of her was new, and the world around us was the one she was raised in. 'A work of art in proper context' Carlisle told me once. It wasn't hard to keep my eyes on that future. I guess my method won't help you much."

My hands jerked on the controller, sending my character off of a cliff and down onto the faded darkness beneath. He laughed at that.

"Dude, it's not as hard as you're making it out to be," Emmett said, giving me a look that seemed to mock me for not seeing the obvious, "Just love her. Everything else will work out, and you might even get in a good fight along the way."

I killed him again on the game before answering with a heartfelt "thanks" before going to win that round and three others. By the time the last one finished, I was nodding off and Emmet offered to take me home.

I thought that the air on my face might wake me up as he ran, but it just seemed to make me more tired, and it was with a smile and a prayer of thanks for good friends that finally fell asleep, some time before five on Sunday morning.

* * *

The next day was a long series of naps for all of us, broken up by the occasional duties involved with keeping a traitor prisoner in ones house. Izzy and Wes came over early so that they could help their matches transport Andrew to and from the bathroom while I placed his meals in his room and took out the dirty dishes from the meal before.

In the breaks between naps, Izzy made calls to all of the Watchers to be involved in the fight with the Volturi and talked to them individually about potential dates for the battle. It would have to be soon. The Volturi had stepped in and chosen a place when Izzy had failed to suggest one. We would not give them the advantage of choosing the time as well.

Izzy was hoping to get the whole fighting force on her side before the conference call that evening.

At around three I felt that strange calm at the edge my brain telling me that Leah was meditating and I relaxed and tried to join her. Within moments the peace and warmth and connection of the bond washed over me. After a time she spoke.

_"Hey Jamie, how're things on the home front?" _

_"Good, the others are doing most of the work today and now there's you, and that's always wonderful." _

I smiled to myself as she replied, "_of course. Any news_?"

_"Izzy plans to talk to us about the date that she has in mind for the battle with the Volturi, you can decide for yourself whether or not you'd like to be here for that, I could open the bond so that you'd hear it either way." _

"_I'd like to be there, if you don't mind. I could come early and we could hang out some, maybe watch a movie, or try to work out our joined ability_."

I stopped myself from saying something stupid or asking if it would be like a date.

_"Sounds great, come over whenever you feel up to it. I know we're all tired today." _

"I'll leave here in an hour or so, see you when I get there!"

The bond when silent for a moment and I focused on the connection, the feeling of wholeness for as long I could before letting myself slowly come out of meditation and then going back to sleep for a while.

Leah arrived an hour or so before dinner, and we decided to put some effort into working out our Joint Match power.

For half an hour or so we sat outside focusing on the bond and looking for a sign of what ability would use something of each of us, and how we'd control it.

"Damn it, how does anyone ever figure this out? It's insane!" Leah spat, frustrated.

"Usually people use it by accident the first time, or when one of the two people is in danger, but I'd hoped that we could avoid that bit of fun," I sighed. "So, how's life going for you?"

"You've been there for a lot of it, there's been so much Watcher business this weekend. The party I was at yesterday afternoon was ok I guess. How are you liking doing school by email?"

"Not much, but it's nice to be at home. I miss my roommate though."

"Tell me about him," she asked.

I did, then I asked about what she was hoping to major in when classes started in the fall.

"I'm not sure. I'll probably just take a few classes and decide later," she answered sensibly.

There was a lull in the conversation and I noticed the bone ring from mother's artifact closet.

I took her hand to get a closer look, my heart jumping a little as my hand met hers.

Her eyes met mine, questioning, and I turned the ring on her finger and she looked at her hand, smiling a little.

"Your mother said that I could wear it," she explained, matter-of-factly.

"It looks nice on you," I commented, "The women would be happy know the strength of the hand that wears it."

Brushing my thumb over her fingers I could feel the muscles in her hand relax. Her face flushed slightly, and I moved closer, my heart speeding up. She was stunning, and strong and I had no idea how begin to be a person who could deserve her, but I wanted to kiss her anyway. Emmett's advice to 'just love her' rang in my ears and I felt her hand on my face and she was leaning in and…

Izzy came to the door and called out to us.

"Guy's come on, we're meeting at the dinner table!"

The moment died and the tension left the air.

Leah squeezed my hand before getting up and pulling me up with her.

The word 'soon' echoed across the bond from both sides like a heartbeat, and promise.

* * *

"Okay Izzy, when'll it be?" I asked as I sat down at the table.

Leah and I were the last to arrive.

"The Friday during spring break," she announced, " just under two weeks from now."

"Why?" my mother asked.

"It's soon enough that the Voluri shouldn't make a counter offer, and far off enough to allow for all us to get here and train some. The weekend after that would give us time to rest and deal with the aftermath of the battle," Izzy replied confidently.

"Very reasonable," Dad commented, "though you and Leah will need to speak to allies either today or tomorrow to give them time to decide their level of involvement. If you like, you can go to them now, and Mary and I, and Wes and Mac will announce your choice on the conference call."

We agreed that that was best, and then split up. Izzy and Jack road off on Izzy's bike then Leah and I hopped into my car and we rode off towards La Push.

* * *

Leah called her mother on her cell phone and asked her to gather the council and Sam.

"They'll be on the beach when we get there," she said, hanging up. " will we have to follow the script when we get there, or can we just talk? I'm not sure on the protocol for urgent meetings."

"We can tell it straight. It might reassure them to know that you haven't turned into Jack," I replied.

She nodded in acknowledgement then turned the radio up, and rocking out to the music as "Carry on my wayward sons" came blasting from the speakers.

Soon enough, I parked us at the edge of the sand and we walked down the beach until we met with the elders.

"What news do you bring us?" Leah's mom asked, jumping straight to the point.

"The Volturi, the rulers and enforcers of the cold ones are coming. The Watchers have offered them a chance to recruit willing members to hide their true intent, to avenge the murder of a dear friend and partner and to put a cap on their control of the cold ones," Leah laid it out plainly.

"Will you aid us in the coming battle? We require lodgings for our friends who will come to help, all of them human, and the help of the pack to ensure that none that slip by us will harm the civilians in this area," I added respectfully. "we can feed our friends, they'd just need room to sleep and access to restrooms."

"What you ask is not unreasonable," Billy Black acknowledged. "How much time can you give us to consider your request?"

"Wednesday at the most," Leah replied, " I'll make sure that you have any information you require, just call me with questions."

The talk continued for a half hour longer, with them asking for specifics on the state of things between the Watchers and the Volturi, then I left Leah with her mother and drove home.

Izzy met me at the door.

"The Cullens will help us, and the Watchers have agreed to the date. As soon as we know where they'll be sleeping the agreed upon Watchers will make their way as close as they can get to us, and Mac and Wes will take them the rest of the way," she said, updating me.

Preparations were underway, and our allies would soon join us. The next two weeks would decide our fate.

* * *

I got it out on time! But now I have to tell you something. I'm doing Nanowrimo and so I'm not sure when the next update will be. I'll aim for 2 long updates in November or a few short ones, cause I'm writing a novel in a month. With me luck and I love you guys, so I will do my best to update when I can.

I hope you liked this chapter! Gotta go post it now, but please review!


	25. Leah and Meetings or Approaching

I'm back, it's been a while, but you remember where we left off right? We'd selected our allies and were just waiting to hear back from the Pack so that we could begin moving people in? Alright, let's go ahead and get started.

* * *

It was the Monday after planning had gotten under way and the battle was already a logistical nightmare.

We were all tasked with finding places for ten new pairs to sleep and train, and a city to protect. No one had given me a definitive list of the abilities of them all, and so of course that was the first question anyone asked me. They were taking these people into their homes, after all, and I had school, and…

It wasn't much fun. This many stresses led me to do something that I have never admitted to before.

I was flying towards the Stevens' home after school, as a hawk that time, when I passed a familiar face in the tree tops. Yeah, I thought it was weird too, so I turned and flew back to see Edward Cullen sitting in a tree just on his side of the treaty line.

_Meet me on the ground and tell me why you're stalking me or I'm coming up there to kick your ass, _I thought. Then I flew down and shifted.

A moment later he joined me.

"I'm not stalking you – Carlisle and Esme want to open our home up to anyone who'd like to stay there. We can take about five couples and if they're worried about their safety, we can arrange something," he offered kindly.

"Say that again?" I asked, not quite daring to believe it.

"We can take five couples?" Edward repeated hesitantly.

I did the unthinkable. I hugged it.

I was the only one with connections near Forks who could know about the upcoming battle, so I'd been left with the job of finding space for all ten pairs, and then there were groups like the Georgia Watchers who wanted to be together and there were all the relationships to consider and who wouldn't mind close quarters and who was sleeping with who and who would be mortally offended at that implication and…. The very thought of it all makes me rant.

I… it hurts to admit this but I… I held on to it. Okay, Jamie, I'll stop calling him "it". I held on to him until I regained my senses and jumped back.

"Thank you, I'll be in touch," I said, turning and walking a bit in the direction of Forks before turning and adding, "Tell no one."

Then I shifted into a bat and flew a ways before shifting again, this time into something that could see in daylight hours and didn't have to flap its wings so much.

_Jamie nearly kissed me_, the thought came as the Stevens' house drew nearer. It had almost really happened and I'd wanted it. It was amazing to me that I could be feeling this way again, only this time it was better – more than it had been with Sam. He was half of my soul; it would have been strange if it hadn't been different.

I knew what his love for Alex had felt like, just as he knew what mine for Sam was like, and what I felt was neither. First chances are first chances and you don't get two. Once you've been broken there's nothing to do but wallow and hope the pieces are all still there when you're ready to be fixed. We were helping to fix each other, and that made for a connection that effected what we were becoming almost more than the bond could have hoped to.

Jamie was waiting on the front porch of their house when I flew up, and he stretched his arm out towards me when he saw me approach. I decided to try something a little different, this time intentionally leaving a feather in my hair as I landed in front of him.

He touched it, smiling slightly.

"Is that a cultural thing or just a fashion statement?" he asked.

"It can't be both? Where is everyone?" I asked, walking inside.

He followed me in as he answered, "Jack and Izzy stopped somewhere afterschool to meditate, and I'm not sure where Mac and Wes got off to. My parents are in the study. We've got about a half hour or so before we meet and get back to planning."

There was an awkward moment where the two of us were unsure how to proceed and then he smiled at me again, this time with a bit of mischief in his eyes.

"Feel like getting beat on a first person shooter game?"

I laughed.

"You're on!" I declared. We ran back to his room and played a round or two before I asked, "The Georgia Watchers. Do you think that they'd be fine spending nights at the Cullens' house?"

"What?" he said, falling off of a ledge on the game out of surprise at the question.

"Edward Cullen offered up room for five couples, and the Georgia Watchers wanted to be grouped together. Think they'd be fine to lie down near the leeches?" I asked again, explaining.

Jamie considered this for a bit before smirking a little.

"They'd probably be cool with it, and we can ask them about it. We'd probably want to warn them to childproof the house first though, they're a crazy bunch from what I've seen. Though it's been a while," he replied. I killed him on the game.

"So what's the deal with them? You said that you'd fill me in," I asked after a few minutes.

"We're going over that in a few-" he started, but I raised my hand to hush him as I recognized a sound.

"Mac and Wes just popped in," I told him. The low buzz of Izzy's bike coming up the street announced, to me at least, that she and Jack were on their way in as well.

I saved the game and the two of us moved back towards the study, Jamie stopping along the way to glance in at Andrew, who would remain in the temporary holding cell until just before the battle.

"Hey," I greeted quickly, moving to sit down before Wes and Mac came in, followed soon after by Izzy and Jack.

"We're all here and on time," Mary started with a weak smile. " On the agenda for this evening is some briefing about the Watchers who'll be joining us, more planning about when they'll come and where they'll stay, and then we need to call them all to tell them when we'll meet them and where."

"Anything to report?" Joshua added.

"Yes," I said. I told them about the Cullen's offer and my idea to send the Georgia Watchers to live with the Cullens.

"Tell them to hide their valuables," Wes replied.

"What is up with them? Are they clumsy?" Izzy asked.

"We'll save some things for when you meet them, but maybe we should go ahead and start with the briefing, okay Ms. Stevens?" Mac suggested.

"Go on," she allowed. "Names and powers only, couple names at your discretion."

"Fine," Wes began, standing. "The Georgia Watchers are led by Colby Talbot and his partner… his Match… his significant…They sleep together. Haydn Phillips, a cousin of Mac's."

"There are a rather lot of them – my great grandmother was one of twelve," Mac added, " Another of my cousins is in that group, one Marian Aileen Grayson, who, with her Match Robin Daniels, form the pair known fondly as Sherwood. Marian is an empath, a non brain affecting, non music dependent empath. Robin has really good eyesight. Their joint match power is seeing into other universes."

"There's also The Magic Act. Razi Teller and Daniel Penn. Daniel is eye catching. Really. The song I only have eyes for you was written for someone with his power. Razi can make manmade things disappear and together they create illusions," Wes continued.

"And last but, well…not really last in the grand scheme of things, are the Rave Twins. Kayla Ann Cadwallader and Tiffany Jessica Larson , a technopath and a sound manipulator respectively. Their Joint Match ability is light manipulation," Mac finished. "Now, let's call and talk to Haydn. We need to start getting people here and twenty-four hours notice would be polite."

"What, did Emily Post write a book on Vampires?" Wes smirked at him.

"Yes, I particularly enjoyed the chapter on waiting to be invited in," Edward said, and everyone jumped, startled by his sudden presence.

Izzy took it stride. "So it was published recently then?" she asked dryly.

"What are you doing here, bat boy?" Wes asked him, seeming vaguely disquieted by his presence.

"Alice said that you were going to call the ones who will be staying with us and Carlisle asked me to come speak on our behalf," Edward replied.

"That's my job, as liaison," Izzy pointed out, and sighed after a moment. "But you're here now, so be quiet unless they ask something that only you can answer."

Joshua picked up the phone and handed it to Wes, who dialed the number and put it on speaker phone.

It rang a couple of times before Haydn picked up.

"Hadyn Phillips, Watcher of the eastern united states of whatever, which Stevens am I speaking to?"

"Why Hade, I do believe that you've gotten cynical in your old age," Wes replied.

"I'm thirty-two," he said matter-of-factly.

"Precisely," she returned in a similar tone. "We have marching orders for you to consider."

"Oh, Wesley, no question as to my well being? I thought we'd trained that New York rudeness out of you."

"And replaced it with southern inefficiency? We've got things to do, and stuff to…watch. Is Colby there?"

"Always, Wes," a different voice replied. "Have you figured out where you lot are stashing us all?"

"How do you feel about sleeping at the Cullens' house?" Mac asked plainly. "They have room for five couples and Wes and I could join you if you think that safety would be a problem."

"There's no other way for us all to be together?" Colby asked.

"Not without causing our liaison with the pack undue stress," Mac said regretfully.

"Then it'll work or they can sleep in the yard," Haydn reasoned. "When will you come get us? A few members of our group seem to pack better with a deadline."

We heard Colby chuckle a bit at that, and then Wes and Mac looked a little spaced out for a few moments. Then Wes replied, "We'll come get you at around 3 Eastern Time tomorrow, if that's fine. We have a stop to make earlier."

"Shall we call in the rest our ragtag bunch of miscreants to say hi, or are you busy?"Colby asked.

"I'm afraid that we have other matters to handle, but please pass along a fond greeting and…" Mac began and he looked to Wes expectantly.

"… Tell them we love 'em and say hi with extra waves and promises of hugs in the near future!" Wes ended, giving Mac a look and pleased little smirk.

"Walked right into that one, kid," Haydn added. "See you tomorrow."

Then he hung up the phone and they called Alba Mariano and her husband/Match who'd volunteered to help in their efforts.

"Alba Mariano, Proud Watcher of Southwestern Europe, what time…?" a sleepy voice murmured before switching to Italian for the rest of the sentence.

"We'll be there at seven tonight. Thank you and sleep well," Jamie said and I finished with. "Your service honors us all."

"I hope that it will," Niccolo, said and they hung up.

We talked about the procedure for welcoming foreign Watchers, and Mac and Wes's sick day from school so that they could welcome them, and dispersed. Then I followed Jamie back to his room and we meditated.

The bond was warm and comfortable as we sat next to each other on the floor facing opposite directions. We focused on it and were rewarded with the all encompassing nature of the experience, the feeling of being nothing more or less than the all of who we were and what we could become.

After a while I felt a soft touch on my cheek, and then my nose, and then my mouth, and I returned the pressure. Then my conscious mind told me what I'd missed in the warm haze.

We were kissing.

Softly and damply and perfectly, we were kissing.

Later I would close my eyes and think on it, and my heart would race, but as I projected my surprise and my joy across the bond and felt him smile against my lips there were no theatrics, just warmth and a goofy awkward beauty as we separated into our own minds and physical spaces.

A dove flew home that night, and an eagle and several others, and if the cavalry weren't set to arrive the next day, if my mother's shoulders didn't carry the worries of the elders, I could have forgotten that there was anything wrong in the world… but life's a bitch, and I dreamt that night of battle.

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I survived Nanowrimo, and now I can write fic again! I said I'd try and update twice in the month but school and sleep got in the way. Hope that you enjoyed the chapter and I hope to hear from you all. please review and thanks to my wonderful…people we'll talk about later because it's somewhat complicated.

REVIEW and Send outtake ideas, because the end of this fic is approaching. Thanks and I'll start on the next chapter ... later today.


	26. Jamie and Arriving Allies or Wa or Bust

Hey guys! Still interested in our story? Good, and if you're lying get ready to tune back in because we have some new friends to talk about.

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It was a Tuesday morning when I got up early and went about my usual routine: checking on Jack and Mac (who were waking up to get ready for school and international teleportation) before taking a run, following the route that went by Izzy's house. She waved from the doorway. When I got back I took a shower.

By the time I was dressed and out of the shower, Mac and Wes were sitting at the table with my parents and eating breakfast.

"Your brother is riding to school early with our Izzy-bell," my mother informed me as I sat down. I smiled at the use of Izzy's pet name, and at how whipped my brother was. "They're trying to fit in some, how is it you kids say it? Warm fuzzies before class."

"They both said to tell you good morning," Mac added, passing a plate that Wes had levitated over from its place by the stove.

"And we say it too. How was your run, Jamie?" My father added. We all exchanged small talk for a couple of minutes before laying out the business of the day ahead.

"So," Wes started, plowing through the mornings calm with her sudden commanding tone, "We're getting Alba Mariano and her husband in couple of hours then getting the Georgia Watchers after lunch. We need to get them all briefed and settled. Mariano and Renzo are staying in Jack's room and Jamie you're sharing with Jack. Mac and I are shifting to the Cullens."

Mac continued from there almost seamlessly. "Jamie, would you mind taking them to the Cullens and introducing them after we get back, please? Colby temporarily nulls powers and while he can shrink his service area, he's still a bit of a challenge to transport and the both of us will be a bit…"

"We'll be beat as all hell is what we'll be. Mariano and Renzo will likely be a bit jet lagged, but you'd be needed more with the Georgia Watchers. Ms. And Mr. S can deal with our pair here, yes?" Wes clarified.

"We'll be glad to see them again," Josh said. "I'm sure we'll be perfectly content to spend the day with Alba and Niccolo."

"Jamie, just get them settled and then you can bring them back here to meet the others around three in the afternoon," Mom instructed. "Carlisle was kind enough to find and pay a service that would rent us a small bus for a couple of weeks so that Mac and Wes won't be perpetually tired. Esme should drive it over soon after they arrive. Jamie, love, you might have to prepare for questions about Alex and what happened - much of this was before the younger ones' time in the Watchers. Now, I'm going to see to the comfort of our house guest. Even?"

She looked to my father expectantly, using his pet name (Even-Stevens if Izzy hasn't thought to mention it). They went to take Andrew to the bathroom and to replace the empty plate from dinner the night before with a full one.

I went back to my room and worked on paper for a class, did some reading and soon enough I was called out to the living room to await their return with the volunteers from Italy.

Mac and Wes were standing and holding hands in the middle of our living room. Mac had black slacks and electric blue button-up shirt with a bright red shirt beneath it, his red iPod with its blue and red headphones poked out of the pocket like a strange flower, and his dark smooth fedora worn so that his eyes were just visible beneath its brim. Wes wore a darker blue long-sleeved shirt that made her look pale - not unlike Izzy had when she'd just come back after the mess in Italy. It still stunned me how much the two of them looked alike. Slightly oversized jeans and tennis shoes completed her outfit, and standing there I wondered how two people who looked as diametrically unmatched as they did could be so in sync that they shared dreams on occasion, and so well suited that no one who was around long enough ever questioned the truth of their shared soul.

"I'm here," I announced quietly, moving to stand next to my mother and father. They nodded, a singular movement carried out by two bodies, and then they sank into the bond, hands tightening as eyes relaxed... and they disappeared.

For a long time we stood there, my parents, I could tell, feeling the bond between them. I tried unobtrusively to reach to Leah's mind. She was at school and I didn't want to interrupt her studies, but…

"_They're coming soon then, are they?"_ she whispered across the bond.

"_Pay attention in class," _I scolded half heartedly._ "Wes and Mac are in Italy getting them now." _

I sent her the memory of their departure. She in turn let me see through her eyes and hear her teacher ask a question about some theorem or other. I whispered its name over the bond and she repeated it aloud.

"_I only did that because it's my fault you missed the answer. Don't get comfortable with having a college junior's grasp on mathematics until you are one," _I cautioned. Then I made myself focus on the wider world as Mac and Wes reappeared with two others and some baggage in tow.

"Watchers of Western North America, Mary, Joshua, and Jamie Stevens," Mac began formally, "I bid you welcome our friends and allies from Southwestern Europe, Alba Mariano and her Match and husband Niccolo Renzo."

"We welcome you and thank you for your service, which honors the path that the sacred knowledge that lends us our power has taken through time," my mother replied, just as formally. I wondered briefly if I'd ever actually sound like that – if I'd ever sound as though I'd been raised with the traditions of the watchers in the way that Mac and my mother did. My mother's tone warmed a bit as she continued, "Alba, Nicco, it is good to see you both. It's been too long."

She stepped forward and embraced them both as Mac and Wes moved back to stand beside me. Watchers from different countries didn't come together much once becoming active. Many had been raised as pen pals, getting them used to being in touch, but the responsibility of keeping one's eyes on their home often prevented international travel unless one was a teleporter or had enough relatives that a substitute could be found. I remembered Alba and Nicco from the occasional fuzzy web-cam aided conversation a couple of years before, but this was the first time I'd really seen them in person.

Alba was of a moderate height with short dark hair that was beginning to gray. She was older than my mother by a fair few years and those years showed on her face and in her hands, but she stood straight and strong and her dark eyes and tired but brilliant smile made her beauty something that blind men wouldn't question.

Nicco looked older his wife. His skin was darker and he was rounder about the middle. He looked like a man accustomed to happiness, to good food and utter joy, something that surprised me a little considering the things that they must have seen in a lifetime of being stationed nearly on the doorstep of the Volturi.

"It really has been too long," Alba replied quietly, "but this is how we do things we Watchers, at a distance and in pairs."

She turned to me.

"Jamie, you're looking well. We've seen such sadness and such happiness since last we spoke," Nicco said, truly speaking as an extension of Alba in a way that went beyond finishing her sentences.

"We have, but Alex granted me a second chance, and my second Match, Leah Clearwater, will be here after school," I replied, though not entirely sure which of them was really speaking to me, "As will my brother and his Match."

Mac and Wes sat down on a couch. I excused myself to get them both glasses of water and some fruit. I wasn't surprised when they acted a bit more couple-like than normal, because they were tired and we all fall back on old patterns when tired.

Alba went to sit in the kitchen with my parents and talk while Nicco walked over and picked up a piece of fruit from Mac's plate. I did a double take as the slice of green apple seemed be in two places at once: Nicco's hand and Mac's plate.

"Don't ask how it works," he advised, grinning brilliantly when he saw me watching. "It's taken me a great many years to learn, but there really is just no questioning some things. Have a piece of this."

He ate his and then pulled another duplicate off of Mac's plate which I took, slightly apprehensively. It was refreshing, and it tasted just as it should. I thanked him and then Mac.

"May I please eat that now?" Mac asked after a bit. Wes laughed a little and reached for the slice, but Nicco pulled a copy from her hand and gave it Mac, who smiled gratefully.

"Do you have to touch it to…make more if it?" I asked sitting next to Mac on the arm of the couch.

Nicco took a seat before replying, "Either it or a utensil, though it took me a fair few years to work out how to do that and longer still to work out how not to do it," he told us, pausing to laugh with a sort of contagious amusement, "There were a couple of months when I had to explain that I was gaining weight when I didn't appear to be doing more than picking at my food."

"I gained a few kilos myself," Alba told us, walking back over and putting a hand on Nicco's shoulder. "Eating whole meals of his in addition to mine, seconds and thirds of both trying not to insult relatives… Nicco, Mary tells me that the kids have some things to be doing and rest to catch up on. She has offered to show us around Forks if we would help with the grocery shopping."

Nicco waved to us in parting then the three of them went out to the car. Wes levitated their bags to Jack's room and then I went back to my room to study and get ready. The next set of people to arrive would be the most complicated to deal with, both because of their number and because of Haydn and Marian, who where both related to the traitor currently in residence.

I was going to have to deal with them all largely on my own until the meeting that afternoon, and I just hopped that Colby and Haydn had enough of a handle on themselves and their group to keep things relatively sane.

My mother and the Italian pair took around an hour to get back, and the older Watchers made a quick lunch for Mac, Wes and Andrew before escorting him to the bathroom again, earlier than usual so that we wouldn't have a reason to take Andrew out of his cage with the Georgia Watchers just arriving.

As noon approached all of the absent high school students called, by phone or through the bond, to make sure everything was okay and that they wouldn't be needed at home early.

At about 11:50 my mother poked her head into my room.

"Jamie, dear, the big ladder is still leaned up against the back of the house, and help from friends is always welcome," she said sagely before adding that I had about nine minutes to get to the living room to greet the Georgia Watchers.

I tried not to worry much about that statement and finished the chapter that I was on. I made it to the living room just in time to see Mac and Wes disappear again.

I was looking forward to meeting the new arrivals. There'd been a gathering or two that they'd shown up to, but they were after my first chance and before this story started. With me powerless and done with Watchering and my brother still wondering what the "family business" was… we ran in slightly less interesting circles, though I knew of them (because I was an eye drop fetching, nosy little person).

I'd talked to them before because Haydn had wanted to stress the importance of keeping one's Match safe and options for when keeping them safe wasn't possible, and because Haydn and Marian were related to the Philips family and Stevenses and Philipses go together like east and….okay, bad example but our families are pretty tight.

A few minutes passed and my mom was getting a little worried.

"I wonder what's keeping them?" she asked. "I had the feeling that Haydn wouldn't let them get too far off schedule."

"Maybe the traffic was bad," My dad joked, and a loud crashing sound on the roof punctuated his comment.

We ran outside and looked up to find several people on the roof. They were all up there. We could have anticipated that, actually; after all, there was Colby to consider. Colby's Match power makes other people's powers inactive when they happen to be inside his radius, which he can expand and shrink at will. Unfortunately he has never quite mastered the art of shutting it off altogether, which makes for some interesting happenings when Mac and Wes try to move him, as they have to touch people to bring them along for the ride.

"My head," Mac and Wes groaned simultaneously. Then Mac corrected himself. "Her head, and too tired to manipulate the… I mean, to close the….to not feel it."

I ran around back and got the big ladder as the others grumbled obscenities, complaints, and other unhelpful commentary. I made a plan to call Alice and ask for help, and I wasn't even surprised when I turned to see her standing there with Emmet in tow.

"Need a little help?" she asked, smiling.

Emmet took the ladder and I watched as Alice danced around to the front yard. Emmett disappeared from my side and by the time I got back to the front of the yard the ladder was set up. Alba was staring at it and rust was fading from it. Soon enough the old ladder looked good as new.

"Who needs to come down first?" I called up, and a girl with dark, short wavy hair with highlighter yellow streaks in it came climbing down the ladder. She looked a bit green and when I moved to help her at the bottom of the ladder, she waved off assistance.

"Bathroom?" She asked, her voice a bit high and panicky. I held the door open and pointed. She rushed in.

"Mac and Wes next," Haydn called, "They look like death, so I wouldn't count on getting then down on their own strength."

"Emmett, would you mind?" I asked. He moved towards the ladder and Alice followed.

"Set the two of them on the bed in my room. If Mac is feeling her pain then it's probably better to let them stay close," I told them and Emmet carried Mac into the house with Alice taking Wes.

The girl who'd asked for the bathroom came running back out and introduced herself. She looked a bit better now, her tan skin no longer peaky and green looking, and I noticed her eyes, which were blue and smiling along with the rest of her face.

"Hey, thanks for that. I'm Kayla Cadwallader," she said to everyone assembled on the ground. My father was holding the ladder as a girl with light brown skin and braided dreads made her way down. Once she'd gotten both feet on the ground, she turned and was about to speak when Colby shouted down, "By the book Jess, and Kayla, you're copying pages by hand for breaking protocol!"

"So the rooftop landing was protocol?" she yelled back, but she did wait while one by one the others climbed down. Colby came down last and he and Haydn shared a glance. Haydn made a sort of have at it gesture.

The heads of the Georgia Watchers were…how can I say this and not give you doubts as to my sexuality? They were a decently good looking pair. I'll leave it to Leah to elaborate. Haydn has dark hair, cut short, dark eyes and is of average height. He's slim and he looks as soft as he isn't. Colby, who'd sounded like the same sort of protocol loving nerd as Mac, was in person the sort of fellow – because people don't use the term fellow enough - he is the sort of fellow that could break a guy in half for calling him a protocol loving nerd. He has brown hair and light brown eyes and arms that, well… I mentioned the type of fellow he is, and he's a tall one at that, very much so, and did I mention he can bench-press…but that's irrelevant so back to the story.

"As you know perfectly well," Haydn began, "We are Watchers of that place between somewhere and Florida. I am Haydn Philips, and the handsome gent next to me is Colby Talbot. You've just met Kayla, and her Match Tiffany Jessica Larson-"

"It's Jess, if you're fond of living," the girl with the dreadlocks interrupted matter-of-factly.

"Now that the rude Rave twin has volunteered to join the protocol breaking one in Unseen book copying later, let's continue. To their right is my cousin Marian Aileen Grayson, and her Match Robin Daniels. Sherwood, raise your hands."

Marian rolled her eyes but didn't protest when Robin took her hand in his and raised both. I was struck by how dissimilar the two of them were in appearance: Marian was so pale that I could almost see the veins in what skin was visible around the oversized jacket she wore, and she was short, falling somewhere between the medical definition of a little person and an average person that never ate their vegetables… ouch Leah, no fair hitting me on someone else's behalf, I was joking. Robin was her exact opposite, a tall black man a few years older than her with black hair cut low.

"Hands up, Magic Act," Colby said, picking up from there. A young black woman with a riot of curly hair, light skin, and features that suited her but spoke quietly of mixed ancestry raised her hand, but the young man next to her pulled it down and smiled. Suddenly all I could see was him: his bad outfit, which managed to clash both with itself and with his dark skin, and the black hair that wanted to curl but couldn't manage it and looked rather unfortunate as a result. Dimly in the background I heard Colby scolding someone. The compulsion to look at the young man lifted and I heard what Colby was saying.

"… and you're joining the Rave twins for copy duty next time you use your power when official business is being carried out. You know better than that."

Haydn took over again, saying "Those two are Razi Teller and Daniel Penn. We bid you welcome our group as friends and allies."

My father stepped forward and replied, "We welcome you and thank you for your service, which honors the path that the sacred knowledge that lends us our power has taken through time. Emmet, Alice," They'd been bringing luggage down from the roof while the Georgia watchers introduced themselves, "Thank you very much for your help, and your hospitality. My son and The Georgia Watchers should be headed your way within the hour."

"No problem," Emmett replied, smiling, "Just get my favorite competitor up and conscious so we can hang out later. I'm totally up for a rematch against Wes."

"We'll see you soon!" Alice said, and the two of them ran off towards their house.

We all went inside, the Georgia Watchers picking up their bags as they went. Once inside Nicco and Alba wandered back to Jack's room where they rested and settled in as the time difference started to catch up with them.

My parents pulled chairs from the dining room into the living room and Colby and Haydn settled on the couch. Robin sat in the big single person chair and Marian appropriated the arm of the chair while the rest of us settled on the floor.

My mother gave me a look and I addressed them all.

"I'm Jamie Stevens, we've talked before. My Match and my brother and his match will be here after school today. My Match, Leah Clearwater, is our liaison with the pack of shapeshifters on the reservation. Jack, my brother, is Matched with Izzy, Isabella Swan, our liaison with the Cullens. Because she and Jack are at school I'll be introducing you to the Cullens when we head over there soon."

"Before we go," Haydn said, glancing around, "I believe a cousin of mine us currently in residence here. I have a few words for him."

"Mac is still sleeping, but you can talk to him again later," I replied, deliberately misunderstanding his question.

"You know what I meant. Where is Andrew?" There was an edge of something dangerous in his voice, and the Georgia Watchers looked between him and me with a mixture of surprise and concern.

"The Watchers, and you among them, decided his fate," I told him.

"So I can't even speak with my cousin before his sentence is carried out?" Haydn asked in disbelief. "Why are you, of all people, trying to protect him?"

That accusation, that I would try to protect the one responsible for Alexandra's death, came like a slap to the face.

"You don't go in the room alone. I will be with you when you speak to him, or you can say whatever you like through that thick wooden door, are we clear?" I asked.

Haydn stood. "Crystal. Let's go see that cousin of mine. Marian?"

He turned and looked at her, silently inviting her to deliver her own final words to her cousin. Marian stood and walked over to her bag, where she pulled out an envelope and handed it to Haydn.

"Give him this from my mother. I've got nothing to say to him," she said, somberly but in a matter of fact sort of way. She was too young and too distant from that part of her family, save for Mac and Haydn, to have known Andrew well.

Haydn nodded and looked to me. I led the way to the guest room/ holding cell. Colby stood and followed us (it was protocol to have a complete pair at hand whenever the cell door was going to be opened). I unlocked the door and we walked in.

Andrew was lying on the bed when the door opened and sat up.

"Hade," he said, looking at Haydn as though they were alone, not acknowledging me or Colby. "It's been months."

"My Match and I are here to fight a battle you made necessary. Don't speak like nothing has changed, Andrew. How could you?" Haydn spat at him. He moved to walk further into the room but Colby held him near the door.

"How could I speak to you as though we're family? As though I have nothing to be ashamed of?" Andrew asked, his voice a bit scratchy from disuse. "It's surprisingly easy. I understand Mac's anger - I nearly did something unfathomable to him when I considered Wes. I understand Jamie's anger too. I'm in this cell for a reason. You though? You were raised under the same creed as I was. No sin without consequence."

"What was Alexandra's sin? What was Jamie's? Jack very nearly lost his brother in the aftermath of your scheming. What about my parents, and Mac's parent's sins? What were they? Your wife's, who loved you and begged for our leniency for you?" Haydn said, glaring at him. "Andy, what the hell made you believe that great grandmother ever intended for that phrase to justify betraying the entire fucking world for one life?"

"One life, Hade, and the thousands they would have eaten. You people don't seem to care about anyone but yourselves and your Matches," Andrew replied. "Jamie and the rest of you will live, and Emily will be avenged."

"You're one to talk about selfishness-"Haydn started to argue.

"Haydn, I held you when you were in diapers. I don't have to justify anything to you. Rant some more if you like, or tell me how your mother is doing, but I'd like to enjoy the last of my peace if you wouldn't mind."

Haydn moved towards him again and I moved to stop him, but Colby mouthed _I've got him. _Leaving the reins and the responsibility in Colby's hands, I watched as he walked over and handed Andrew the letter.

"From Marian's mother," Haydn said, then his arm tensed and his hand formed a fist at his side and nearly before I knew it, Colby was behind him, holding his arm and pulling him away. Haydn turned and looked at Colby and I got the feeling that they were talking across the bond, because their facial expressions were changing without provocation. Soon enough though they walked out of the room and I followed them. As we entered the living room we caught the tail end of the conversation.

"It's not like I was an older kid when we met last. He stepped on me once," Marian said, sounding exasperated.

"That bastard," Razi deadpanned from her place on the floor next to Daniel. Colby cleared his throat to signal that we were present and could hear them.

"Which is to say he is a… baby stepping braggart," she continued.

"I was four," Marian clarified, a challenge in her voice.

"Well yes, but she thought that it bad taste to call him a frequently uncoordinated kid squisher," Daniel defended. "It could be abbreviated as fuc-"

The resulting laughter from the rest of the Georgia watchers covered the end of the word, sadly, but I think you can guess it. I know I did.

I laughed along with them and went to my room to check on Mac and Wes.

They were sitting on the bed and attempting to eat the two separate lunches that someone, most likely my father, had left for them. It was a sight. Overextending their joint ability made the bond between them, which was a bit more involved with them because of how young they'd been when their soul was completed anyway, even stronger… which tended to make them act more like one person spread between two bodies than was practical for certain activities. It was particularly unhelpful for things like the eating of two separate lunches or anything that required only one set of hands, as the spilled juice and organic debris around them could attest.

They kept reaching for the same things or knocking each other's hands out of the way. After a bit they shot frustrated glances at each other and retreated to their own plates, Mac leaning down on his own to pick up a glass that they'd knocked on the floor. Wes's features tensed a bit but then colored blobs of juice floated up and back into the cup, not leaving so much as a stain. They were going to be fine.

"All good, guys?" I asked, after watching for a bit.

"I think-" they started to say at the same time, but they glanced at each other and Wes said, "I think we'll be fine. Tell Colby we love him even if he is a sucky road-trip complicating headache maker, and maybe send Hade in to see if he can help with the fatigue?"

Rather than say those words to the mild mannered but still very tall and very strong Colby Talbot, I opted to send them both.

It was a little overwhelming to stand in the midst of a large group of Watchers. I stood against a wall and watched them for a second before Razi, who'd pulled a book seemingly out of nowhere and had been reading it, called me over.

"You know, I suspect that that wall is doing better for the lack of extra support," she said, smiling slyly when I sat down next to her. The book in her hand vanished and I had to stop myself from trying to recall whether or not she might have been holding it the whole time.

"It does seem a bit sturdier now, doesn't it?" I replied with an answering smile. For a moment I watched the others. Marian was still on the arm of Robin's chair, the two of them talking to Jess and Kayla. Robin was leaning over a copy of the unseen book and they were having a mini briefing on the Cullens, talking about how they'd demonstrate their individual abilities while taking loving shots at each other.

"Random dance party to show them your skills, spelled with a z? Sounds awesome," Robin said approvingly to the rave twins before turning to Marian. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'll just let them know how awesome they think I am," she said, sounding coy. Then she turned and looked into my eyes, adding, "Because I am awesome, right, Jamie?"

Without warning I felt my heart and soul wrap around that central truth. Marian was truly awesome. I felt myself nod in answer to her question, then the feeling left and I blinked and laughed a bit as I realized what she'd done. The others laughed along with me but I had the vague feeling of being happy that she was our side.

I turned to Razi and asked, "Is it always like this, when you all hang out?"

Razi grabbed Daniel's hand and spaced out a little, Daniel, who'd been reading the book that Razi had made visible again, spaced out at her side and soon the scene seemed to change before my eyes; suddenly they were all sitting in a rather eclectically decorated living room. I glanced at the inanimate signs of life that lingered in an otherwise immaculate space; a book left on a chair, the odd microchip or beer bottle glinting in the sunlight from an open window, a medical journal lying open on a table. They were all still talking though everyone but Robin looked up and around, confused, before glancing over at Razi and Daniel and going back to their conversation. Robin's ability to see better than the average person made him immune to the magic act's illusions (it's less lame than it sounds, I promise).

They let their illusion fade and Razi grinned. "Always. Isn't it great?"

Colby, Hade, Mac, and Wes all came out a few minutes later and got organized to head over to the Cullens' home. Esme knocked on the door to announce her presence, and soon after that I was climbing into the small bus, crowded as it was with all of us and their luggage, and we were off to the Cullen's house to introduce the Georgia Watchers and to get them settled in. That's a story for another time though, as Leah is now looking at me in a way that spells death if I prevent her from taking her turn for much longer.

* * *

I am so sorry, but it's not my fault this took so long. The universe took a hit out on one of my editors' computer and normally I'd be all "screw proper English and punctuation" but her opinion matters because … I'm not telling you unless you review.

I'm totally above holding chapters hostage, and I'll never do it as long as I live, but I can totally keep some classified info to myself (and you really want to know, trust me) so review this chapter and I'll reply with an announcement that I won't make in an author's note until the last chapter of this fic. And also really, send me outtake ideas there's some give and take involved in planning these and I'm a college student. Read as: when I can't focus long enough to work on a chapter I work on your outtakes and it keeps my brain on this fic and keeps chapters open and worked on when I can give them my attention.

I love you all I wish you a belated happy new year. Happy Friday or Thursday depending on when you get to this.

Please review, I hated having to hold on to this chapter but I made a deal with my editors and I think that the story will be better for it but I would very much appreciate knowing that you're still reading this. If you specifically don't want to know what I'm telling reviewers as a treat, say so otherwise I look forward to hearing from you and to telling you all about… ;)


	27. Leah and Allies or Hijinks

Life's a bitch and Icarus and his tale have some serious plot holes. For those of you who don't live inside my head, what I mean to say is that if you fly high enough it's just cold and hard to breathe. Wax wings wouldn't have melted until well after intrepid young Icarus left orbit. I contemplated this on the way to the Stevens after school on the day when our allies began to arrive.

I'd spent the day anticipating meeting new people and catching odd bits of emotion from Jamie. After school I went to a bathroom and shifted in a stall not even taking the time to wonder where my clothes and backpack went when I shifted, I flew out and up. In an impulsive gesture born of the restlessness of the day, I flew and shifted into another bird and flew higher and still higher until my arms grew tired and the air began to thin and grow cold. I leveled off at around three miles above the ground then I turned towards the Stevens and flew.

* * *

I was greeted at the door by Joshua Stevens.

He raised an arm but I shifted in the air and stumbled as newly reacquired feet nearly missed the porch at the front of the house.

"Hello Mr. Stevens," I said. "Everything cool?"

"Like the other side of the pillow, Leah," he replied kindly, with a smile and a wink. "Jamie is still off tending to the Georgia Watchers with our less mortal allies, but allow me to welcome you in his stead. We've not talked much, you and me."

I nodded and smiled, following him back to his study, waving at Mary, who was in the kitchen, as I went.

"You don't seem to talk much in general," I noted, a bit late but to no ill effect.

"Not on my own I suppose, I don't. Mary and I complement each other well," he replied pleasantly, "as do you and my eldest."

"It's the way we were made, I guess." I wandered around the study, looking at the shelves set into the walls and asked, "You weren't from a Watcher family, were you?"

"No, Mary was," Josh replied. "Would you like to hear the story while we wait? We don't have long but we don't need much time to cover the basics."

"Is it a good story?" I asked, settling down on the small sofa in front of him and smiling slightly.

"It's a love story, wrapped in fantasy, and hidden, as the secret of the Watchers is hidden, because the telling of that story plays such a part in it. I admit to bias, but I rather believe it to be one of the best stories I know," he said, he reached up and pulled a book off of the shelf. It was "A Midsummer Night's Dream". From it he pulled a picture of him and Mary when they were younger.

"It all started when-"

I held up a hand to stop him. Already, with the senses that were still strengthened by my ability to phase, an ability that I would lose in time because of disuse and my body's desire to get back to its normal rhythms, I could hear the distant rumble of Izzy's truck.

"Jack and Izzy are nearly here. Rain check?" I asked apologetically.

"Certainly. You may also leave me to my work and go greet them. I'd imagine you've had similar struggles today."

I smiled my thanks and stood, walking to the front porch and waving to them as the climbed out of the beautiful old truck.

"Are they here, yet?" Izzy asked, excited, as she approached me.

"Not yet," I replied. "Josh says they'll be here soon though."

"What does Jamie say?" Jack asked, joining us on the porch and holding both of their backpacks. He put one down and tapped his right temple with his right index finger. Apparently this was the accepted sign language for 'use the bond, you newbie'.

It hadn't occurred to me to do that, so I let him live and took a deep breath, settling my mind and calling out to Jamie across the bond.

"_Can we expect you soon? I want to meet the people we're fighting beside." _

"_We're loading up now, but wait…"_ Jamie let me hear through his ears as he said, "Put him down now! They're doing us a favor." "_Clearly, we're having some issues with…_Haydn, you aren't going to let them just…well, of course you are. Colby? _We're on our way but if Izzy could go ahead and plan some face time with the Cullen Clan to make sure they they'll still help us in spite of these guys, that would be lovely." _

I relayed the message to Izzy and she asked what they'd done.

"Ask him later, or ask the Cullens about it," I suggested. "He sounds a little traumatized. How was school? I couldn't concentrate on anything at all."

"Me neither," Jack replied. "Teachers asked me questions in both of my first classes and I swear, I answered 'the square root of three' in literature and 'Virginia Wolfe' in math. I was nearly sent to the counselor."

Izzy and I laughed and I told them about how I'd flown nearly as high as I could after the last bell, exaggerating a little for the sake of the story, and about Jamie's accidental conversation with me in class.

Izzy had been in the middle of a story about how she'd nearly fallen asleep in class on purpose, hoping to see them arriving, when I raised a hand to stop them and smiled as the big van that I assumed carried the Georgia Watchers and the rest of our group came rolling up the street. It pulled in and I saw Esme in the front seat, driving. Izzy walked over to talk to her as the Watchers piled out of the van. I looked at them: a diverse group, to be sure. The descriptions of them had included more of their powers than their appearances. Soon enough though, a tired looking Jamie walked towards me.

He greeted me with kiss on the cheek and a hug, and I swatted him playfully before taking his hand.

"Come in all of you," Ms. Stevens called from the front door and, with curious glances between those of us who'd gone to school that day and the Georgia Watchers, we stumbled into the house.

A lovely Italian woman and an older gentleman were already sitting in the living room.

"Finally we're all here," Joshua announced coming out of his office. "I rather think introductions are protocol. We've all been briefed but as we'll be fighting alongside one another soon a review couldn't hurt, could it? On the couch here are Alba Mariano and her husband Niccolo Renzo."

"Alba and Nicco," Alba amended warmly, "from Southwestern Europe. I age things and Nicco regenerates food."

She lifted a sheet of paper from a table nearby and we watched as it yellowed in her hand slowly before becoming as delicate as handmade lace and then dust. There was an apple on the table, which Nico picked up. The original was still on the plate, much to my surprise.

"Anybody hungry?" he asked jovially and handed out copies of the single apple to everyone. The smallest of the Georgia watchers asked for two and Nicco laughed.

"A girl who likes her food. Any chance you've some Italian in you?"

The girl was tiny and pale looked a bit like doll, a laughably un-Italian one at the moment.

"Only the leftover pizza from breakfast," she replied with a slightly self deprecating smile and much more than a hint of southern drawl before accepting a second apple. When he'd finished, Mary stepped forward and continued. She introduced her sons, Izzy, and me, and we took our cues from Alba and Nicco demonstrating our powers if we could. Jack and Izzy both opted out, but Jamie made a small earthquake and I shifted into a hawk and perched on Jamie's shoulder before shifting into a pale white peacock to the sound of their applause.

Mac and Wes stepped forward and Wes made a show of levitating a glass and making it appear to explode in slow motion.

Finally it was the Georgia Watchers' turn. If you're a little lost by the sudden rush of new into this story of mine then you know how I felt. If that's a problem, then maybe you should have asked another question.

"There have been ample displays of both our powers," Colby said, gesturing to Haydn after Josh introduced him, "though if we can take over introductions? Wonderful. Rave twins, Jess and Kayla?"

I hate to interrupt myself but I feel like I should point out, before anything else is said, that Haydn and Colby are beautiful. Between the two of them there is, I believe, every trait a man who aspires to be desired or immortalized in art, and song, and sculpture, should have. It is my firm belief that it's pairs like them that make people believe that relationships like theirs are wrong. The notion that these two specimens of utter hotness should be together made me want to cry at first. It seemed the height of selfishness that they might never pass their beauty on to future generations.

Jamie you're pretty too, so stop looking at me like that. Back to the story.

Kayla, a technopath, made every cell phone in the room go off. A discordant mix of half a dozen bad pop and indie tunes filled the air, along with the muffled buzzing noise of phones left on vibrate and in pockets. Jess smiled and the dissonance resolved to a steady pulsing sound and then transformed into the most stereotypical techno music I had ever heard, complete with a computer generated sounding voice chanting " Jess is awesome, rave twins for the win" in the background.

The music played for about thirty seconds and then it stopped and we clapped cheered as Jess walked over and stole Mac's hat to hold as she took a bow.

"Not bad, Party pair," Haydn said, raising a hand to silence them when they complained about his mocking of their name. "Would Maid Mags and Mr. Hood care to demonstrate for us?"

"That's Marian Aileen Grayson, or Marian, and Robin et cetera and we've been over this," she said long-sufferingly. "Can I have a volunteer?"

"Will I do?" I asked stepping forward.

She smiled, seeming delighted at the prospect of showing off her skills.

"Oh I believe that you'll do quite a lot, because you are happy. You are so very happy that you just want to fly," she replied matter-of-factly, "Maybe you want to become a bird and perch on my shoulder? And then you want to dance, say…serpentine figure eights before transforming back to human please?"

She was right. I was ecstatic and oh, how wonderful it felt to shift! I flew bright circles around her before landing on her shoulder as a humming bird. Then I hovered to the floor, shifting and dancing like a snake charmed before transforming back and smiling and humming. I was so purely happy, happy in a way that I hadn't been since my father died, since before Sam met Emily. I wanted to keep that feeling. It was so much better than the fear and confusion and betrayal of the past week.

Then Marian spoke again. "All done, thank you for playing."

Before she finished speaking I was normal again, aside from feeling somewhat bereft and cold. The joy was gone. The emotions were back. I tried to make sense of them as they came like a rush, sharper for the brief time when they hadn't plagued me.

Jamie put an arm around me and kissed my cheek as the demonstrations continued.

Robin described the tissue in Izzy's bones, ostensibly using his super-powered sight.

"They're interconnecting circles of black nuclei against grey cell bodies, and they look like lace or like stars in a Van Gogh painting," he said simply.

"You can see that by looking at her hand?" Jack asked, clearly impressed.

"Well…" he intoned sagely, before grinning easily and saying, "No. I'm in my residency at St. Joseph's, in Atlanta. I know what bones look like under a microscope. However, if you typed all of that up in size negative nine thousand font, got into an airplane and pressed the printed copy against the window on a clear day, I could still read it with no trouble."

There was a stunned silence, excluding the almost audible amusement from the Georgia Watchers at how clearly impressed we were.

Just as the rest of us began to process his last statement he spoke again. "I've been working on the x-ray vision thing, but it's slow going at the moment – takes a lot of energy."

Nicco broke the silence and got us back on track, clapping his hands and proclaiming, "Wonderful to see such initiative in the young – if I hadn't needed to control my powers to stop overfilling my poor stomach, I'd not be able to do what I can now, never mind exploring new uses!" He grinned, and we all laughed a little.

The Magic act did their thing but my eyes were trained on Marian.

Marian was dressed casually. She was small and pale and unthreatening, though the same could be said of Wes and Izzy, so clearly looks aren't everything. She seemed nice enough as she laughed with her friends, but I couldn't feel settled after the demonstration

Mary's voice broke through the odd haze of my thoughts.

"Now that we've all been introduced, shall we practice? Our allies have lent us the use of their baseball field."

This, I remembered was protocol. Displays of ability in isolation and in action would help as strategy developed and make us function with cohesion. A dark voice inside me said that Marian could do the same thing, that none of us would ever know, and I tried to ignore that possibility.

The lot of us crowded around Mac and Wes and in moments we were there.

* * *

The heads, Nicco, and Alba got together on the pitcher's mound to work out it would all work.

In the mean time the rest of us were left to mingle.

Mac almost immediately engaged Kayla and Jess in a discussion of some new music software or another and Jack and Jamie and Izzy all went to talk literature nerd with Razi and Daniel over by third base. This left me with Sherwood.

Marian waved me over casually and I didn't really think about my next move. In an instant I was in the air, a sparrow on the wind. And then I remembered the joy, the compulsion to act on it, and I flew into the nearest stand of trees, shifted back to human form and tried not to throw up.

For the first time since I'd become a Watcher, my thoughts and feelings hadn't been my own, and I'd relinquished that control without a moment's hesitation.

"Are you alright?"

I looked up and saw Marian standing a few feet away. She looked genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine," I replied shortly. "Let's head back to the others."

I moved to walk around her, aiming for the edge of the trees, not more than a few yards ahead.

"Are you sure?" Marian asked. "I only ask because you've been on edge since my demonstration. I can feel it."

"How nice for you," I snapped. She looked confused and I tried to leave the woods again.

"Wait. Talk to me," she demanded, not entirely forcefully, but I couldn't ignore the part of me that now very much wanted to do as she asked. Was she even aware? Did she know the extent of her power? "If it's just that I made the feeling too strong to just turn it off the way that I did, I could fix it. I could-"

"I'm fine, stop messing with me and let's go," I insisted.

Robin walked up as I strode across the clearing. The others were already gathered and ready to train.

"Can she control it?" I asked him abruptly, needing to know that before anything else happened.

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

"Can Marian control her Match power?"

"She can control her actions, as much as anyone does, but she can't stop feeling with it anymore than you can stop feeling with your skin, why?" he asked, no more understanding of my urgency than she'd been of my fear and anger.

"Come on guys, we need to get started," Jamie called, and I mouthed 'later' to Robin before running off to join the group.

* * *

"Okay you ragtag bunch of whoresons, misfits, and criminals… and also Watchers. We're splitting into two teams and sparring." Haydn's saving grace, I had decided, was how pretty he was, because it couldn't have been his manners.

"The rules are these," Josh told us. "We have chosen the teams and you will fight as directed. No betrayal or team switching. We'll test different combinations later. No lethal force. And no causing serious injury either – save it for the bad guys. Mary and I are on opposing teams but we'll be watching, not sparing, during this first one; refereeing and judging. Haydn and Colby are going to use their powers to enhance some of yours, as they will during the battle and the team that has them on it will have to protect them and adapt to their aid at the same time, at a point that we consider to be about half way through, they'll switch teams with Nicco and Alba, who the other team will be protecting. The battle is neither lost nor won until we say, so be creative."

Mary stepped forward and proclaimed, "The teams are as follows: on practice team Fire, Me, Haydn and Colby, The Rave Twins, Mac and Wes, and Jack and Izzy. On practice team Ice: Josh, Nicco and Alba, Jamie and Leah, Sherwood, and The Magic act. 'Some say the world will end in fire, some say ice', 'I hold with those who favor fire' and so did Robert Frost. Ready to see if we we're right?"

A chorus of shouts went up as we split into our teams.

"NOW!" they shouted, and we scrambled to huddle up, to get away from the other team, to strategize as we went.

I had no time to contemplate the vague dread of fighting directly alongside Marian, or the equally vague joy at not having to fight against her.

"Okay," Razi said, breathless, as we hurried to put ground between them and us to give us time to strategize, "we have to fight untouchable, unbeatable, and crazy. Any ideas?"

Jamie grinned. He's a word guy, as much as his brother and father have ever been, so it didn't surprise me when he had a response. "We have to be impossible and a little bit crazy ourselves, and fast."

We stopped briefly at the edge to work out our strategy, but a few seconds after we started a strange electronic sounding hum caught our attention.

Jack, Izzy, Colby, and Haydn were out of sight, and while I did briefly wonder about where they'd gone, the immediate danger was presented by the Rave Twins. They were coming toward us wielding glowing staffs of neon light. For precious seconds all that I could think was, "Light Sabers. Damn."

Life is such a bitch, but then…I'm no princess myself.

I turned into an eagle and flew. With my sharpened eyesight I saw Izzy and Jack with Haydn and Colby standing in the space where I'd traded snips with Marian before. I flew towards them then doubled back sending a quick mental message to Jamie.

_Care to help me shake things up?_

_Say when. _

_You'll know when if you know me. _

I flew higher up going as high as I dared then I shifted back to human form then rapidly through every kind of animal that I knew of that could breath air. As I drew close I used wings to slow my descent, but I made the mistake of holding the same form too long and Wes pulled me towards her.

"You're just so sick if it all, aren't you, Wes? This mock battle. You're scared and all this is going to do is bring everyone's weaknesses to the surface, give your nightmares specificity. Just put her down. It means nothing to you and you know it."

Wes faltered and I turned back to the Rave Twins with their hyped up glow sticks, darting off shifting between snake forms but becoming human long enough to shout, "How the hell are freaking LIGHT SABERS not LETHAL?"

Josh yelled back, "They're set to stun. Keep fighting!"

I shifted into a hawk and flew at Kayla's back. They were using their joint power, light manipulation, and Haydn and Colby were warping it up with theirs. It took all four people to make those light sabers. I just had to take out one.

At the last possible second I became a boa constrictor and wrapped around Kayla at the same time an earthquake knocked both of them down. I unwound myself from Kayla and stood on the field as a human choosing my next move. The magic act was nowhere to be found, presumably off protecting Nicco and Alba.

_Jamie! Let's tag the Magic Act in. Maybe they can take Mac and Wes! _

_Sounds like a plan! _

"Magic Act, you're in! We'll take protection duty!" Jamie shouted and suddenly the scene at the edgethe trees seemed to flicker and Alba and Nicco appeared as Razi and Daniel rushed onto the field.

Marian and Robin had been holding off Mac and Wes with Marian's power and Robin attempting physical attacks, but when she saw Jamie and me running for the woods Marian turned and followed.

"What are doing?" she shouted. "Jamie, you're leaving us here? Don't you care?"

What was she talking about, I wondered, the two had never met in person before today. They were acquaintances at best, and running off of the practice field was hardly abandonment. Then I realized what she was doing, and I saw red.

That girl, that monster, was using her power to force Jamie's hand. She was taking control of him in a way he couldn't fight. In an instant I became a wolf, snarling and angry, with sharp teeth bared and ready. I ran at Marian as fast as I could, pouncing and forcing her to the ground.

"STOP!" Josh and Mary yelled and I heard everyone rushing towards us. I shifted back to human form, not because of anything anyone did, but because wolves, for all their strengths, can't punch with any real accuracy, can't leave scars to make permanent reminders of a human woman's fierce anger over someone's utter disregard for seriousness of hijacking another person, and not just any person – half of that woman's soul.

My fist hit her face just once before I found myself forced upward and into the air, and held there.

Robin grabbed Marian as she got up and scrambled back, holding her shoulders and looking into her face, then up and down her body, checking for obvious injury before pushing her towards Haydn, who could use his healing powers to do a more thorough check.

"Take it back!" I yelled to her, cutting through the chorus of exclamations and demands for answers about why I'd attacked my own team mate.

"What?" Marian shouted back, "I didn't send whatever childhood trauma caused that episode of yours!"

"Whatever you just did to my Match with your power! Take it back!" I was suspended in the air but I could still move. I used my right foot to loosen the shoe on my left foot and kicked it at her.

"Leah, she did! You have to stop this," Jamie yelled from the ground. Wes's power now held me still in the air.

"Put me down," I hissed. "I swear on the continued existence of my culture, she's safe from me – if she keeps her power to herself."

Wes lowered me to the ground and let me go.

Jamie moved to stand beside me.

"What's going on with you, Leah? What is your problem with me?" Marian demanded, hurt and scared and angry.

"What's wrong with me? You have the power to change how people feel, how they feel about specific things and ideas and actions. You control people on the deepest level and you do it as easily as you breathe and speak," I declared angrily, "hell, you don't even need to speak. You just will them to do things your way."

"And you change into animals, we know all this-" Marian shot back only to be interrupted by Robin.

"She doesn't mean any harm, and she'd never hurt any of us. The same can't said of you," he snapped at me.

"Good intentions aren't enough, and I'm certain she'll never hurt anyone. She's perfectly capable of making of making harm happen without lifting a finger," I shot back.

"Does anyone have some sugar I can borrow?" Marian drawled. "Because clearly I'm no longer needed in this argument, so maybe I should go fix myself a pitcher of sweet tea. I'll have some to sip on while I wait for y'all to finish."

Someone, Kayla, I think, let out a startled laugh in the background, and I heard the percussive sound of a hand hitting the back of someone's head.

Haydn stepped forward, saying, "No one has every complained about how she's used her powers in the past."

"Sometimes you can miss flaws when you're too close up," I replied, the anger draining out of me as I realized that no one else was stepping in to argue in my favor. Then Izzy stepped forward and squeezed my hand and Jamie opened the bond and showed me his understanding of what I'd done and felt.

I don't know how long we stood there, tense and tired, but eventually we gathered around Mac and Wes and they took us back to the Stevens home. I moved to fly off but Mary stopped me.

"Come inside with me? I have some information for you. I'd like to call it wisdom but you're free to think otherwise," she said brightly. I smiled slightly and she took me back to the room with the artifacts from the Watchers, picking up a binder from Josh's study on the way.

"Leah, I want you to remember that Marian is your age and lacks your experiences. Give her time; give them all time, to consider what you've said. She has power, but she's not the first by any means to have great power. Look at Wes. She's had years of a tempering influence in Mac and she still has to hold back," Mary pointed out sensibly. "Marian hasn't realized how great and terrible the gift she's received is, and neither has Robin. It'll take time to learn restraint, certainly more than the time before the battle. Give her that time and try to give her a second chance. She's a lovely girl and she's not the only one who could use another friend."

She handed me the binder.

"Page ten, about halfway down the page," she said and then left.

It was Haydn bringing news of Marian's power to the Watchers.

"You know that Marian is an empath, because she can sense other people's feelings, but we recently found that that ability may only be a byproduct of her actual Match Power. Marian can make you want to do what she asks."

The transcript went on as someone raised concerns similar to those I had. She couldn't be allowed to invalidate the free will of their team. Perhaps she and her Match should be relocated.

Haydn argued against that. She was already a member of their team, and they'd all have to go separate ways soon enough, to spread out and fill gaps in the Watchers monitoring of the world. He argued that they should have this companionship while the organization could afford to let them, while they were still too untrained to watch regions of their own. Besides…

"She doesn't make you do it; she makes you want to do it. It's a damn subtle difference but it's there. Yes, she can do it without a word or conscious thought, and she's young but she seems trustworthy, and at least here there's a nullifier if she gets out of hand. We can teach her control on our own."

The argument continued until it was won, obviously by Haydn.

I sat down on the floor and I tried to reconcile my own fear with Mary's wisdom, and the facts of the situation.

Damn, I thought distantly. I hate having to apologize.

* * *

Hey guys, I hope you liked the chapter! I love you all, readers, reviewers and lurkers alike, and I want to thank you again for your support of this story and your patience with me.

I really would like to hear from you if you have the time, the outtakes competition continues so review and maybe you'll get an outtake written to your specifications as i did at the end of waking up!


	28. Jamie and War Prep or Living

I found Leah sitting on the floor with the notebook of transcripts of conference calls still in her hands.

I'd seen Leah wander off with my mother and I knew that she'd set Leah straight, because that's what she does. I was glad for it, because if Mom hadn't stopped her then I would have missed the chance to spend time with Leah in person that day.

All day I'd worried about getting the first groups of Watchers there and situated, but now Izzy was there to do her job as liaison leaving me free to live out another role. For the first time in a long time I was someone's …someone. I was in a relationship with the most fierce and beautiful young woman on earth and I wanted to enjoy it, the newness and the rightness of it. So I waited until I saw my mom and then another five minutes for good measure before following the bond to find her on the floor of the small room where my mother kept the artifacts of Watchers past.

She looked up when I entered.

"I have to apologize to Marian," she said tiredly as I helped her to her feet. "Come with me?"

"To the ends of the earth – or in this case the living room. Can we meditate after?"

"Sounds good," she replied and we went to find Sherwood.

They were sitting on the steps on the front porch, and they turned and stood when they heard the door open. Robin angled himself slightly in front of Marian when he saw Leah.

Leah raised her hands, palms facing outward to show her lack of intent to hurt.

"Look, I just want to talk. We can ask to borrow Colby if you're worried," Leah said, looking at Marian, though ostensibly speaking to both of them. I moved to lean against the wall by the door and after a moment Robin sat back down, letting the two of them talk.

"I'm sorry I pounced you," Leah started. Her voice was even but she looked off to the side before looking back towards Marian and correcting herself. "No, I'm not. I'm sorry if I hurt you and that I freaked when I should have just talked to you."

"Thank you. And you're right, talking is good. Can we start with why you've hated me practically since I walked in the door?"

"I don't hate you. I just see how easily your power could be abused. I was a member of the pack of shapeshifters nearby and… let's just say that I'm a little protective about free will. You make people want things. You affect their ability to make choices. That's scary."

"I'm not scary, as long as I'm well fed," Marian joked before changing her tone. "Really though, you heard Hade. No one complained before you. If I were screwing with people's free will-"

"Would they know? You don't have to speak to use them, so would they know it had happened?" I interrupted.

"You can't ask her not to use her power. They're hers to direct, her birthright given her family's high rate of successfully found Matches," Robin said sternly, staying seated but looking up at her with fierce eyes. I thought about responding to him but this was Leah's moment and she didn't need my help.

"I'm not asking her to stop using her power," Leah snapped, disconcerted, before turning back to Marian. "I'm not. I'm asking you to…" she scrambled for words, and stopped to take a deep breath and soften her tone again. "Watch a Spiderman movie. With great power comes the ability to seriously screw with things in unforgivable and un-undoable ways. Be careful and be aware, particularly when my Match and his family are involved."

I watched as amusement warred with annoyance on Marian's face, and wondered how often her friends must have nightmares about dolls coming to life. As annoyance won out, my estimate went up considerably. When Marian replied, it was in a polite tone but utterly devoid of even the pretense of warmth.

"I'm not some kind of menace with a loaded weapon that you need to put the safety on. I forgive you for earlier. Is there something else I can help you with?"

Leah looked for a moment as though she might argue, but she replied, "That was it. See you later."

Then she turned and went inside, and I followed her as she moved back through the house. In the living room, Izzy and Jack were hanging out with Kayla and Jess while nearby Razi and Daniel were moving their hands in weird ways above the ground. I stopped and stared for a moment and soon a chess board flickered into being. I jumped a little but then I looked at Razi who spared me a wink and brief smile before making the board invisible again and going back to the game.

Leah turned and walked into my room and again I lingered in the hall, listening to the voices coming from the open door of my father's study.

"-may be too tired tonight, but they should be able to come get you tomorrow," my mother told someone over the phone, likely the other half of the group of Watchers that would fight the Volturi. "There aren't any nullifiers in your group, are there? And the two extra pairs have made it to the meeting place? Alright, just checking."

Figuring she'd tell us later, I walked into my room to find and heard the lights turn off and the door close behind me. Leah's hands on my shoulders led me to my bed, where I followed the silent order to sit. She sat next to me and then laid back, looking at me expectantly until I did the same. I smiled when she kissed me.

She kissed matter-of-factly, in the same way that a person having carried an apple back to their room and, having left it sitting in sight, takes a bite. We were alone, and I was hers, no more reason needed. We kissed as though our lives weren't still on the line, as though there was world enough and time to be coy, to be two young people high on our good fortune, as though it could last forever.

We meditated in fits and starts minds brushing like lips, like hands, like… ok yeah, sorry got lost in the story for a minute, I'll skip ahead.

Daniel knocked on the door a while later and we sat up.

"It's unlocked," I called and he opened the door. For a second the feeling of being utterly fascinated by him surged and then dissipated. He does that, uses his power to make sure people are paying attention, on a fairly regular basis even now.

"The study is too small for all of us so the heads are summoning us to the living room," he informed us. We followed him and settled with the others.

The four heads, Hade, Colby and my parents, were sitting on the couch and Alba and Nicco had pulled chairs forward to sit facing them. The rest of us sat in pairs on the floor as we waited for them to speak.

"The other Watchers that will be fighting alongside us are arriving tomorrow," Haydn began. "Mac, Wes, try and rest up tonight, they're a big group. Two other couples were allowed to join the effort on further consideration."

"Leah, can you be sure that they'll have places to sleep?" Josh asked.

"They might end up bunking at my house and traveling around for showers," Leah cautioned, "but we'll make it work. My mother is fine with keeping anyone the rest of the elders won't harbor."

"If they end up camping on the beach, I'll find a rule that puts you out there with them," Hade threw in. Leah's eyes narrowed but she nodded.

Mary cast an annoyed glance at him but picked up and continued the announcement.

"The game plan for the next while is this: Dinner then an early night. Georgia Watchers, you'll spend the morning at the Cullens being instructed by Hade and Colby. Nicco and Alba will head over there to help with breakfast and lunch."

The older couple nodded their agreement and Colby picked it up.

"The lot of you should take the opportunity to practice fighting alongside them. Mac and Wes you'll be bringing the others here and the two of you and Jamie will be greeting them. Izzy, Leah, if you would confer with our allies and arrange for a full meeting tomorrow evening?"

The two murmured assent.

The meeting continued, but I let my eyes wander around the group. Jess and Kayla were listening, their faces serious for the first time since they'd arrived. Even so the iPod touch in Kayla's hand seemed to flicker through random apps without any conscious action on Kayla's part. Jess reached up without looking and touched the device lightly. I noticed the small smile that touched Kayla's features in response. I looked away feeling as though I'd seen something very much private. My eyes found Razi and Daniel.

They were shifting in small ways, constantly seeming to be moving in and out of each other's space. Finally Daniel gave into whatever impulse the two had been fighting and grabbed Razi's hand while shifting away. They rested easy then, and I watched as bits of the carpet disappeared and came back as Razi's fingers drew idle swirls over it.

"…and dinner will be served in about ten minutes," my mother announced, ending the meeting and bringing me back to myself.

Jack and Leah excused themselves to go and call the Elders, and Izzy moved over to me.

"Hey big brother," Izzy said smiling. I marveled for an instant at the things that Alex had managed to leave for me, a sister and a Match. I reached an arm out and she leaned against me. Her hair was still short, the way she liked it, and her red and white shirt made her look warm and beautifully alive. I remembered meeting her, what felt like lifetimes before. She'd come so far.

We sat, enjoying the moment, and I continued my people watching. Marian and Robin had moved to the table and were watching as my mother and Niccolo talked about their favorite recipes. Well, Marian was watching them. Robin was watching Marian.

Dinner was an interesting affair, with Nicco doing all of the serving at first so that everyone could have as much of each dish as they liked. He channeled his power through the utensils, and it was a bit strange to watch the food be served and still look as though it hadn't been touched. Izzy ate quickly then went to lie down, hoping to see the outcome of the battle with the Volturi in a dream.

When everyone else was done eating, Mac and Wes left, taking the Georgia Watchers with them. Alba and I volunteered to do the dishes.

"I'll dry them and put them up, if you don't mind washing," I offered, stepping up in front of the sink.

"Perfect," she said with a smile.

I watched as she ran the warm water and put in the dish soap, marveling at the gentleness and care she took with the mundane actions. Her motions were practiced and fluid.

"They're nothing special," I blurted, after watching for a moment, "just the same old every day ones."

"My oh my but this country is young," she replied, not unkindly. "What is more special than every day spent among friends and family and the things we use when surrounded by them?"

She smiled and handed me a plate. I couldn't help but take care as I dried it.

She continued, "I am old, like my Italy. I make things old like I am. We Watchers in Italy don't move around as much as they do here. Everything I've known, from childhood forward, is the 'same old every day' thing. The ruins in Athens were once everyday old things."

I smiled, having been admonished in the best of all ways, and replied, "I understand. Tell me about Italy? What other things could this young country learn from your old one?"

Alba smiled and continued to tell me about her home. She spun an interesting tale about a country that was defined by its people, and Watchers whose abilities were very much styled after the culture.

"I make old things, my husband makes plenty of food to share, I've a brother who can make something from hardly anything; could make you an oven from a match and some metal scraps, a scooter from some poles and rubber band… the magic of a people is within us," she explained, grinning, her beauty evident.

I wondered what powers our young culture has granted us, wondered if there was any basis for a culture shaping Match powers, but I stopped when I heard the Georgia watchers preparing to go for the evening. We finished our tasks and went to see them off.

"Try not to hurt Edward too much. No matter how irritating he is, we do need him," Izzy was advising Wes as the group got together and began to make physical contact with her and Mac.

Wes's face flushed slightly and Mac sent an assessing glance her way.

"I won't," Wes replied. "Nothing irreversible, I promise."

Mac moved to say something but seemed to think better of it. Soon enough the lot of them disappeared and Izzy took off for home on her bike.

Leah walked over to me and took my hand, leading me out of the living room and on the front porch, where she kissed me goodnight.

"Want a ride?" I asked as she started to pull out of my arms. "You don't have to fly."

"I'll be fine. Go study, or play something and I'll let you know when I've made it back," she said, smiling lightly and turning into a small bird. She flitted around me before shifting into something larger as she flew towards La Push, the moon on her wings making her look for all the world like shooting star.

* * *

The next day came too soon. I rose before dawn and went running. By the time I'd arrived back at my family's home, Alba and Nicco had already made their way to the Cullen house with breakfast. They'd made a plate for me though.

I found it on the dining room table sitting next to a stack of printed pages. There was a post-it note on top that delivered a clear order in red permanent marker: "Study and Strategize. Izzy, Leah and Jack will help."

A quick glance through the pages revealed profiles on each of the Watchers who'd be fighting alongside us.

Deciding to save it for after I ate and took a shower, I pushed the stack aside. When I was dressed and dry, I walked back to the kitchen to get the papers and began to read.

At the top of the stack were the profiles of the group from India and other South East Asian countries. Indrani Inderjit, one of the volunteers, had a Match Power that made her uncommonly good with weapons. Her Match was her best friend, a Brazilian expatriate woman named Elisa Ines. Elisa, I read could turn anything into a weapon, shifting objects in ways that made them the most harmful. Their joint power was flight. Rajni and her husband Pranay made up another pair. She could alter her own form, making extra eyes appear on her shoulders, for example, or growing extra arms or legs. She was skilled in several martial arts. Her husband had gained uncommon skill in science as his Match power, and (as it was noted in the profile) was quite pleased at not having gotten something so extreme as his wife's gift. There were several other pairs, like Delshad and Navid, both twin brothers and Matches, one of whom had super strength and the other having skill in traits related to spying. Expatriates of a different kind, they'd been born in Iran and sent to live with family in Nepal when they were young, in the hopes that they might live more freely.

I grinned when I read about the Danish woman, Britta, who'd met her Match, the Spanish gentleman Reynaldo, while they were both traveling in India. They'd moved back there temporarily by switching posts with a couple that had chosen to pursue separate business interests for a year. Finally, Adi and his wife Indah made up the second oldest couple in our fighting force. Both were well into their fifties and Heads of their own family of Watchers. They'd been brought together in their teens by a fortuitously arranged marriage.

The profiles went on, with ones included for the Georgia Watchers and my parents and the rest of us.

Before I could review the rest of the profiles, my mother came to fetch me.

"Mac and Wes will be arriving momentarily with the rest of our fellow Watchers."

"Alright," I replied, standing. "I'm coming."

I heard them before I saw them. They arrived in the split second I'd glanced down to straighten the profiles.

When I looked up and saw them there I was struck by how many of us were gathered in one place. I reached for the familiarity that I'd felt reading the profiles. I got smart about it and reached for Leah, borrowing the grace with which she'd handled everything, and I greeted them all with a smile.

I told them all that they'd meet the others later and that the power demonstrations could happen then. I looked around and worked out who people were based on their profiles. It wasn't hard. The twins, Delshad and Navid, and the older couple Adi and Indah stood out, and while they stayed in pairs the others were fairly recognizable. I sat back and watched them talk, not feeling up to being social at the moment, and I wondered how to relate to them. I didn't often find myself playing soldier. How do make yourself form friendships when battle looms on the horizon?

I wanted, suddenly, to be with Izzy, Jack, and Leah. I wanted to hide with them and hold on to the days that we had left.

Feeling restless and knowing that the others were busy with school, I wandered into the kitchen and called Wes. I asked if we could bring the groups together for some training in the field where we'd gone the day before.

I didn't know if I could be friends with ten new people that I might see dead at the end of the battle, but I sure as hell could spar with them. I could make the ground move beneath them and I could get knocked on my butt until I believed that I'd see them all standing victorious at the end of this.

"We could use the practice," Wes answered, agreeing, "but certain stalkers would be troublesome to shake. Mind if Edward Cullen tags along? He says he'll be good, and since emo isn't horribly contagious, I don't think it'd hurt anything."

I heard laughter in the background and then Edward's voice, clarifying, "Elizabeth Wesley is catering to an audience. Kindly remember that as you interpret her statements. It's sunny today, so I can't be at school. You'd be doing me a service by letting me tag along, and I'd be obliged to do you a service in return, by observing and giving suggestions."

There was an odd shuffling noise before Wes returned to phone.

"That's what I said, and the name's Wes," she snapped at Edward. "Just let me find Mac and we'll get our half of the troops there before coming and grabbing you and the rest. Don't forget to leave a note or something for your parents."

"See you in a few," I told her, and hung up.

I walked back to the living room and glanced around. They looked just as antsy as I felt, so I didn't feel so bad about not consulting them before signing them up to spar with strangers.

"Alright everyone, you know that a couple of pairs are still off doing their day jobs, but since most of us are around and unoccupied, anyone up for some training?" I asked the group at large.

There was a general murmur of agreement and the group split and mixed as people left their matches to change clothes or shoes, or to suggest strategies to be tried on the practice field.

I wandered to my room and closed the door, letting myself distract Leah from her studies for just long enough to tell her about our new plans.

"Lucky you," she responded, envy leaking across the bond.

"No," I argued, "Lucky would be not having something to train for. Luckier still would be having you here."

Before she could reply, Mac and Wes arrived. It was time to get to work.

* * *

Hey guys, my patient and wise and generous readers, I'm sorry but I'm back and the next chapter is already in the works so it shouldn't be another month long wait.

I'm still looking for outtake ideas, and **I have missed your reviews so** please tell me what you think of this chapter and I'll even offer you a treat. **Tell me which Watcher besides Jamie and Leah you like best in a review or in a message through my profile on this site **and I'll post a ranking next chapter, and I might even have a surprise featuring the most well liked Watcher.

I really do value every one of you and I do happy dances and sing silly happy review songs to myself when I get them. Happy Wednesday, and I can't wait to hear from you all again soon.


	29. Izzy and Jack or Gathering Strengths

I don't have to tell you anything. I mean, really, untold pain and suffering in the form of a conversation with old acquaintances isn't too high a price to come and see my brother-in-law without adding to his story. There's no law stating that one's reason for a journey must be carried out. I really don't have to tell you.

If do choose to tell you it will be because you asked, and because the preparations to be made before a battle are important. Leah, I'd imagine, has spoken to you about what battle is. It's death, pure and simple and it's a part of who we are.

We Watchers are meant to spend our lives in observation. We are granted the responsibility of seeing all the wildness, all the control, all the light and dark and gray of this world. If that were all there was, perhaps no one would ever choose to reject the bond, but it's not. To be a Watcher is to sometimes see that the path forward is the last one anyone would choose. We are Watchers, gifted with the power to see beyond the blissful veil of life saving ignorance of those that we protect. I don't know you, or where you are in life, but one thing you start to realize after a while is that, as much as we like to separate 'action' from what we do on a routine basis as Watchers, seeing things makes you responsible. To know is to choose to use or not to use that knowledge. We were made to know, and so we were made to act.

This part, this set of details that Jack and I have, and will share with you per your request, is about becoming who we are. It's about stepping up and preparing to face the dark truth of our purpose. We are not the hand that tips the scale; we can be nothing so clumsy or evident. We are gravity and, if all went to plan, soon the Volturi would be brought back into balance, pulled low by a force that predated even their makers.

First however, let me take a moment to remind you of the politics of the situation.

Years ago, Mac's uncle Andrew gave the Volturi information about us, the Watchers, and specifically about Alexandra Abdima, Jamie's Match. He did so because years before, he'd known and loved a girl by the name of Emilia Reese, whom he called Emily. When Emily and her family disappeared on a family trip to Italy, he was heartbroken. Then upon finding his Match and beginning his training he learned of the Volturi and decided that they had killed her. He petitioned the Watchers to avenge her, but they refused. How could they know if the Volturi had eaten her? Why should one girl, who was not associated with them, move them to war when so many before and since had not? Andrew, furious with the Watchers and unable to let the Volturi stand unpunished for the sin of taking that one life which he had cherished, at times above all others, hatched a plan to see both pay for their crimes against him. He took Alexandra, who was beautiful and powerful and beloved by her new friends in our organization, and he waved the truth of her potential to harm them in front of the Volturi like a matador's flag. They killed her, and the Watchers began to bide their time. A war would come when the Watchers were certain that they could win.

Intro me, and the happenings with Edward in Italy. I came to them and offered an alliance so that we would be allowed to leave and go home. I offered that alliance unaware that a traitor that the Watchers had yet to identify had already refreshed their long memories and presented us as enemies, and so we planned the battle to come under the guise of a meeting of allies. As it stood a week before the battle, I knew that the volturi intended to wipe us out. They didn't know I that knew of their plans, and I would continue letting them believe me fooled, because numbers or not, I owed those who'd come to fight beside us any advantage that I could give them.

That is where we are, and now let's go further.

* * *

When I was young and stupid, back before Edward left, school had felt like a commercial. A necessary but unwanted break from what I felt was my real life.

After… well, after I grew up and rejoined the human race, I never thought it would be like that again. But there we were, Jack and I, sitting at lunch and talking to Ben and Angela with our minds across town preparing for war.

"And then that lousy guy had the nerve to say that Emily Dickinson was a- Izzy, are you listening?"

I shook off my thoughts and tried to focus.

"Yeah, someone should totally shut the door on his divine majority, the bad, bad, evil," I tried but then gave up. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little stressed out."

"I know," she replied understandingly. "Graduation is right around the corner, but you gotta hang in there, Izz."

I nodded and asked her to tell me all about the bastard mocking Emily Dickinson. Apparently he had problems with Anne Bradstreet, too.

By the time Gym rolled around that afternoon I was the poster-child for tension. Jamie hadn't called with an update during lunch. Was everyone there and safe? Was there trouble? Had Wes finally responded violently (well, more violently) to Edward's eerie interest in her?

The coming battle was a weight on my mind that made it hard to sleep, and with one of my Match powers involving visions while I slept, it was slowly starting a vicious cycle. I was too worried to sleep and not sleeping meant that I couldn't one of my powers, which made me worry more.

"Izzy Swan, you're more keyed up than a cheating man's car," Evie Addams announced as I walked in.

I grinned and ran over, surprised.

"What are you doing here?"

"Teaching a self-defense workshop and recruiting for the evening class," she replied. "Want to help, sister mine?"

I agreed to it without hesitation, and we sat on the bleachers and talked as the others milled in from the locker rooms.

"Why so anxious?" she asked, her eyes kind and accepting.

"Just freaked about the future," I hedged, gesturing vaguely.

She smiled a bit and seemed to think about that.

"Look, you have two choices. Sage advice or demonstration that proves a point?"

I watched her for a hint of which might be the safer choice, but she just stood up and began doing stretches. Well, what the hell, she was my sister.

"Demonstration please."

"Alright then, stay right here," she said before running over to a group of students and whispering something them. Then she stood before the class and began to speak.

"To show you what one of my students can do with time and training, our Izzy has agreed to spar with me. She'll be doing it blindfolded."

There was a murmur of appreciation with spots of laughter and not-quiet-enough whispers of derision. My eyes widened but I stood and approached her, praying to gods I'd neglected for an answer as to what this was going to prove.

She tied the blindfold on and the hits started coming.

The noise of the crowd hid the sound of her movements and for a time all that I could do was react. The feel of hands and feet impacting my arms and the slow fade of each stinging touch began to blend into one another like the rings from rain drops on formerly still ponds.

There were snickers from the crowd, not even the kind with caramel, and suddenly I was fed up. How dare she come at me while I stood in darkness, with the rest of world unknowingly dependent on me? She slapped me and something in me woke up. I grabbed her hand as it moved away and shoved her to my left even as I dropped and swept her legs out from underneath her with my own.

Then I moved to take the blindfold off and I remembered a day long ago when I'd found half of my soul while blindfolded, in different sort of point making demonstration. In that moment it occurred to me that maybe my life would always be just that, stumbling forward in darkness, and that sucked and people were going to die, and I'd have to find a way to live with that.

* * *

When I met Jack at my truck after school, I pitched him the keys.

"Christmas already?" he asked.

"I need a nap," I told him before climbing into the cab.

He got in soon after but instead of getting ready to drive, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed cheek before whispering, "La mia bella regina, dormire ed il sogno di una speranza per noi. My beautiful queen, sleep and dream of a hope for us."

"You took Italian at your old school," I remembered out loud as I fell asleep. The next thing I knew I was in the dance studio again.

It was as surreal as ever. Newspapers were floating in the air and the mirrors showed an array of scenes from my leap from the cliff at First Beach to the scenes from Alexandra's story that had helped us to see what the Watchers had hidden.

One of the papers that floated past me was the one that had told me Alex's fate, and let me understand why Jamie deserved a second chance. The wheels in my mind started turning. I'd been so confused about my power, ever since I'd seen Alexandra and realized that I didn't just see the future. It'd been ages since I'd had a vision and I was now seeing every one I'd had before and I realized that each vision had led to an action.

Alice sees. She sees a dozen futures every day that she never speaks of and that have no bearing on her current world. She does not see and jump off of cliffs. Alice sees the future and she acts sometimes once she's made a decision with consequences that she finds desirable.

As I stared at all the visions I'd ever had, even seeing the early ones from the meadow which had confused themselves and gotten jumbled together until Jack's presence in my life brought forth the qualities in me that would let them find order, I realized the true nature of my Match Power.

I see, but not as Alice sees. I see no more or less than exactly what I most need to see. It's a special sort of intuition, gathering a mix of information I've acquired and truths sent from wherever the visions of seers come. When I needed to get stronger, I saw a reason. When I couldn't see a way to bring the Cullens back to Forks, I saw the only way fast enough. Now, when I needed most assuredly for something to go right, it had revealed itself to me.

* * *

When I woke up, I found myself in the last place I ever expected to find myself again. I was in the bedroom of one Edward Anthony Mason Cullen. In the most articulate way possible I expressed my feelings at this turn of events.

"Ok, I broke his heart, but that's no reason to for me to die an untimely death in my sleep! God how wimpy is that? Sent directly to hell. It's not even an interesting hell, damn it."

Then Edward walked in, looking spaced out and smiling a little, in way he hadn't smiled in front of me since before…well, before. I'd loved him once, so it was easier than it might have been let some of my old resentment go and just talk to him for once.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked, and he actually jumped.

"What are you doing in here?" It was almost too fast for me to understand.

"I just woke up – I guess someone must have moved me from the truck," I replied. Then I noticed how he was looking at me, like an artist looks at a reproduction at first but then he seemed to see me, really see me.

"What are you looking at?"

"I'm not sure," he said, kneeling so that we could talk face to face without my needing to stand. "I thought I knew you, but now I don't and you're with him and you seem happy. You're really happy, right?"

I was stunned. What had I missed here? Edward's face showed a mixture of concern and confusion that left me powerless to do anything but nod.

"See, the Bella I knew wanted me. She…you…you said my name when you slept and God you were beautiful but you… Who are you? You lived a whole life while I was gone. I never knew you could do that. You... I don't love you, but can I get to know you finally? You changed your whole life in months; I think I'm going to need to do that."

"Edward, are you okay?" I asked, wondering what had sent him reeling like this.

"I think I need a little time to-" he faltered, looking for a word.

"Think?" I suggested.

"Yes, that," he said, "but we can talk later right?"

I nodded, stood, and wandered toward the door, glancing back just once to see Edward giving me a sad smile. I stopped, "I think that it gets to be okay," I told him, "that I don't love you, and that you don't love me. I think that that's alright now."

"I think so too, Izzy. I truly pray that that's the case."

I left him to his thoughts.

* * *

I was overwhelmed by the crowd of new faces that greeted me as I walked down the stairs. They were a calm group, most just sitting and talking. The twins, Delshad and Navid as I would later learn, were walking around looking at things and murmuring to each other. If I hadn't seen Hade and Colby the day before, the twins would have been devastatingly handsome, but the two head Watchers from Georgia had a way of raising the standards by virtue of their continued existence in a place. Nicco and Alba were talking to another older couple, Adi and Indah, in the corner. Nicco winked at me before returning his full attention to the conversation.

I stopped on a landing and looked around trying to figure out what was going on. I was looking for a familiar face. Then I rolled my eyes and face palmed, because for an instant I'd forgotten that I was part of a pair and I'd never need to search outward for familiarity.

_Jack? Milord, your lady seeks thee. Wilt thou further deprive her of your presence? _I whispered across the bond.

_I'd hoped that she would call to me upon waking, but I see that she found other pursuits. You sound too awake for me to be your first contact after sleeping, _he replied, and then I saw him coming in from the back porch and standing by the door.

_Come on out. The Georgia Watchers, Mac, Jamie, and I have been having some quality time. They trained earlier and everyone is resting a bit before the next bout. _

I nodded and made my way through the living room to join him at the door. As I walked I felt their eyes on me and I tried to smile in response, but there were so many of them; it would take time for me to feel comfortable with them all. It was difficult enough to forge friendships with the crowd from Georgia, and they had the advantage of ties to me through family and tradition.

As I walked through the door I was greeted with companionable smiles. Razi waved me over to an empty patio chair next to the garden bench that she and Daniel were sharing.

"Have a nice nap, Izzy?" she asked. I nodded and looked around again.

"Leah's still at school right? Where's Wes?" I asked.

Mac spaced out a little before replying, "Wes is upstairs on the phone with her mother. It's been a couple of days since they talked and she didn't want to worry her."

Jack sat on ground at my feet and laughed a little. "You know it so strange," he commented, "I forget how young we all are. It's so crazy that we have to fight to save the world but still have to do things like check in with parents."

"Or butlers," Kayla threw in. "I'm a legal adult and Tom still gets antsy if we don't email him. He's been looking out for me since my parents went missing."

Razi pulled out her cell phone while Kayla spoke, and she held it up, saying, "Housemates, it's time for the weekly check-in. Say it with me," she started and then all the Georgia Watchers joined in. "Razi Teller is still alive and well."

"Good to know," a man's voice replied laughingly over the speaker phone. "I'm at work so I have to go, but keep on making magic, baby, and email me when you get the chance."

There was a chorus of goodbyes to Mr. Teller then Razi turned to me and Jack to clarify. "My mom gave up all rights as soon as I was born, and since I moved in with these guys I only ever see her once or twice a year. Dad gets the check-in calls. I don't think you're ever so old that you don't need to call home sometime though."

Colby added, "The Watcher brats have the conference calls, and inter-family connections like the Phillips-Stevens friendship to keep parents calm. Their children are raised like cousins, to love each other like family even if they only see each other a few times a year. Plus there are those like Mags' dad and Mrs. Stevens whose powers can be used to check up on them at a distance."

Haydn continued the impromptu lecture, informing us that, "The secret that makes us Watchers is hell on some families. It's safer for people to find Matches before learning it, keeps firestarters and telepaths and any other powers that could harm their possessors or those around them from being amplified before people start training. All the same, it's a secret and a set of lies. It's parents with dangerous enemies, and kids who find themselves living outside an unfunny inside joke. Sometimes it takes well into adulthood before they find matches and join the rest of the family. Some families drop hints; some kids have secrets of their own, but in spite of everything, very rare is the Watcher child who is not loved and protected above all else."

There was a long quiet moment as that sunk in. It occurred to me then that maybe this battle was the smallest of our coming adventures. There would be the challenge of reconnecting with those I'd let slip away from me, like Jacob. He'd been a dear friend to me. He'd fixed my bike, and ridden with me, and helped to save me from the waves after I'd gone 'cliff diving'. He deserved more from me than to be stuck on the back burner, and I promised myself that I'd make time for him.

Beyond that, if we lived, there would be college and a world without the Volturi as they'd always been. There would be changes in the organization of the Watchers and a thousand mornings and nights of living in this world with eyes opened and hands ready to help.

I wanted them all. I had never really relished living before, never had to hunger for the days to come because they'd nearly always seemed available. I'd nearly died in the incident with James, but I'd still been so focused on Edward that death had meant little beyond the specter of separation from him. In this moment I wanted to live and to see all of our tomorrows. I wanted to know if there would be other battles, other Actions resulting from this. I wanted…so much more than I could list here.

"Alright guys, I know that the party can't start without me but you don't have to look all serious while you wait," Wes said, walking a few inches above the ground and shifting so that she was seated in mid air next to Mac, who'd been somehow managing to look starched and dignified while sitting on a beach chair someone had dragged out.

We laughed, letting the tension go, then Wes spoke again. "I don't know about all of you guys but I'm fully rested and ready to kick some ass. Anyone else up to some training?"

The sounds of agreement came from both inside and out and the last shreds of doubt blew away in a rush of determination. I knew, after all that, the strengths that I brought to the table.

The reign of the Volturi was in its last days, and if I died in pursuit of all that I'd seen could be mine over the course of this day, it wouldn't be because of fear. There was simply none left in me.

* * *

Izzy is a hard act to follow, but I'm her Match, and so in a way I never come second because she's gone first. In a way, we flow seamlessly. Still I must make the transition as we always have.

I don't have to tell you anything.

I think this may be the last you hear from us for a while. It was kind of Jamie and Leah to invite us over to tell you this part, to give us a last chance to add to this epic before the story changes hands again, but we all know what's left to tell. This is their story, it's a story of second chances and as I am one of those few lucky individuals who finds a complete life like other people find a five dollar bill in old jeans after laundry day, my role in telling this story has its limits.

Izzy found her courage by looking to the vastness of the life ahead and seeing the skills with which she would take on that life. I found mine in her certainty. When she looked to the future, she saw one with me in her life, in her heart, and in her truck. It's a powerful thing to know that someone loves you like that.

My part in this is to move away from all things triumphant and emotional and to talk about the physical, practical realities of preparing for battle.

After the powwow on the back porch, we did as Wes suggested and gathered around Mac and Wes to go to the practice field. When we got there Jamie told Leah where we were and began separating us into groups.

First he called for anyone and any pair that had purely offensive powers. Wes stepped forward, squeezing Mac's hand in parting. Indrani and her Match Elisa along with Britta and Reynaldo stepped forward as well, to be joined by one of the twins, Delshad. There was a moment of stillness and then Hade called out from the back, "Mags, Rave Twins, step up. We'll talk later"

Eyes wide, all three moved forward.

"Now will all Matched pairs in that group please form a group to my left? Everyone else grab your match and form a second group near the others."

Everyone arranged themselves as Jamie asked. Then he looked at the two groups and made adjustments.

"Britta and Reynaldo, why did you put yourselves in the offense category. If I'm not mistaken Britta, you regenerate and Reynaldo you multiply."

The two shared a glance before simultaneously replying, "Because of our joint power, which makes a battlefield of the minds of our enemies. One too chaotic for them to focus on much else."

"Good job, this is the kind of thinking we need right now. You two stay put. Mac and Wes, join this group. You guys, Indrani and Elisa, and the Rave Twins will be our primary offensive squad. Find a free spot on the field and get to know each other, work out some possibilities for combining your strengths," Jamie directed.

Then he turned to the two pairs left, Delshad, Navid, and Sherwood. "You two are mixed pairs and we'll find places for you between the offensive line and the defensive one. You'll be getting some more people soon so sit tight."

Jamie carried out a similar process for people with defensive abilities.

Izzy and I, The Magic Act, and Haydn and Colby all stepped forward. Then there was some distraction as Leah finally flew in and joined the primary offense group.

Jamie set the six of us and my parents as the defensive group and put the two remaining pairs (Adi and Indah, and Nicco and Alba) with the mixed pairs.

With all groups separated, we fell into three groups with four pairs in each group. Then the training began. Still in our groups, we ran laps around the field. The first lap was a simple one but for two laps after we had to zigzag and and weave around one another. The third lap was the craziest as we were told to use our powers if we could do so without injuring each other. We ran in zigzags through flashing lights, with people appearing and disappearing on all sides. The ground was shaking and people were changing form. It was insane. Finding the bond amidst the chaos, making our safe place while moving and trying not to lose each other in the dizzy mess of friends and new acquaintances, it was like nothing we'd ever done before. Then a voice that was not Izzy's cried out in my mind.

"Everybody stop!" a thickly accented voice sounded. Everyone stopped cold.

"Thanks Indah and Ida!" Jamie announced. "Their joined ability lets them tap into bonds and use them to communicate. Okay guys, let's split up and rest. Liaisons with Allies: see if they can spare anyone to train tonight and try to make arrangements for future training times. Mac and Wes if you want to pop over my house and see to the traitor's needs that would worth a couple of hours of time to pop home if you'd like to later."

"You got it Jamie," Wes replied a little too quickly before disappearing with Mac.

I kissed Izzy on the cheek as she pulled out her cell phone to call the Cullens and I went to find Leah. She already had her phone out and it was ringing.

Twenty minutes and several annoyed voices later the Pack agreed to join us for training sessions starting the next day, but informed us that we had to respect them enough to know that they were not at our beck and call.

As Leah put away the phone we looked up to see that Izzy had been more successful. The Cullens had arrived and they, along with Izzy, Jamie, Hade and Colby, were working out what they wanted to do.

"Do you think they'd do any snacking before or during the battle? Maybe we should station someone in the town?" Izzy suggested.

"Good Idea, Izzy," Emmet replied, "but that doesn't say what to do during this practice."

Jasper nodded and said, "You've only ever taken on newborns, maybe we should start by updating everyone on fighting vampires who've aged past a year, and do some combat training. Tomorrow we can split up and work on using what we know to help you all strategize."

"Sounds good," Leah said. "Now let's get moving. Some of us have to sleep tonight."

And with that inspiring note the next part of our training began.

First there were introductions for those who hadn't met the Cullens before and then we got down to business.

We all gathered around Jasper and Jess used her power to raise the volume of his voice so that all present could hear him.

"I regret to inform you all that unlike the informational session before we fought the newborns, I can't give you easy answers about how to hurt them. The vampires that you're going up against have had years to learn how to win battles. They kill other vampires regularly. They are stronger than most of you and faster than most of you. You have to know going into this that you come from a place of extreme disadvantage, even with your gifts. Everything about you is a weakness that they don't have."

Alice twirled around him before adding, "But our greatest weaknesses are our greatest strengths. Over the next days of training we'll work together to prove it."

"Let's start with some basics," Jasper started again.

"Like what?" Kayla asked, probably unsure if she should be upset at the not so tacit implication that we were all going to die.

"Perhaps we should start with hiding," Carlisle said, and for an instant I thought that he must be joking.

Then Edward added, "If they're any good at that we could work on running. They'll all need that too."

A few people laughed rather nervously before Rosalie mused, "Right away the most obvious problem for any human hiding from a vampire is that you can't stop making certain sounds. Now what can we do about those pesky heartbeats of yours?"

Naturally after a statement like that from…well… a bamf like Rosalie we had to revive a couple of people. When everyone was conscious again Carlisle turned to Jess.

"When you manipulate a sound, do you affect its source at all? Do you have to hear it yourself?"

While the two of them worked out details, I glanced around hoping to use my power to glean something of how we were doing as a group. I see truths in eyes and as I looked around I saw fears that people were hiding but I also saw insights that wanted expression. I saw people who deserved more than to be treated like pawns.

"Excuse me, Carlisle, Jess, would you be open to some suggestions? I think a few other people have ideas that might help," I proposed, looking around the crowd and seeing … "Ida, you had an idea?"

He stepped out of the crowd and joined the conversation. "Yes actually, what if you-"

Jamie wandered over and gave me a pat on the back.

"Good call, little brother," he told me. "Inviting the man with wisdom as his Match power to help was brilliant."

"I didn't know," I replied. "I just saw that he had something to say. It's nothing they give out medals for."

"All the same, it was a good thing to do." He handed Izzy a stack of paper. "Profiles on all the Watchers here. Study up."

Gradually we all split up and worked on different things. The middle group, who with ironic smiles named themselves the "Oddballs," went off with Carlisle and the Rave Twins to see if Jess could give us a hope of stealth. The Offensive group, along with Haydn and Colby, were working on strategies with Alice, who could see the outcomes of planned combinations. My parents and The Magic act did some sparring, with varying levels of power use, and Izzy and I each read half of the profiles exchanged the information across the bond.

After a while of that, we got together for a real information session. There were guard members who could hurt us more deeply than the others if not dealt with. There were also their mates to consider.

By the time we finished it was dark and The Rave Twins had had to divide their attention between learning to silence heartbeats and lighting the clearing so that people could work. Eventually we all grew tired from the long day and many of us had to be at school, so we separated and found quiet places as much out of sight as we could manage. The Cullens looked confused about it, and I thought I saw Edward attempting to stalk Wes and Mac into the woods, but when Watchers gather for any reason we all know how evenings end.

It was time to meditate.

Bella's hand was warm in mine as we walked towards the treeline and as I looked around I saw faces look more relaxed than I ever dared hope I'd see them. Nicco and Alba, the wonderful old Italian couple that Jamie and Leah have spoken fondly of, were like newlyweds again - walking too close to each other and sharing sweet secrets with their eyes.

Sherwood, Marian and Robin, who'd seemed somehow tense in the aftermath of their discussions with Leah, let down their guard again. I couldn't see Mags' eyes but what I saw in Robin's… I was suddenly more appreciative of what peace this time would bring him. I wished him patience and strength as I continued to marvel at the love and affection in the air.

Even Haydn and Colby, who were so discreet that many still believed their partnership to be a platonic one, had an arm each around the other's waists.

Izzy and I sat down on a fallen log back to back, still holding hands, and searched for bond. It felt, as it still does to this day, like a thing not lost but not present, a thread reaching out, and when I reached along the thread, as she did the same, we felt completion as we each took hold of that which outside of meditation our souls forever searched for: each other.

This is not an emotional rant. Love has its place in all things, even in the practical preparations for battle.

Later after everyone found their places for the night, some side by side with their matches, others separated, like Izzy and I, because she still had to go home to Chief Swan. I wandered around the house checking doors and windows to see that they were locked, and checking the bond to see that Izzy slept well.

* * *

Over the next days there were challenges.

When we trained with the pack several things became evident, one of the first being that the Cullens were less noticeable. Because of that they would be the best choices for guarding civilian areas. The pack didn't trust them, and none of them really wanted to be stuck on guard duty while their family members fought.

Training with the pack had its moments, both great and frustrating. For example, when they showed up to train with us, Izzy and I were practicing with pulling up and releasing our 'safe place' under varying circumstances. This time, I was hidden as a cheetah shaped Leah attacked both Izzy and Mac and Wes. Izzy was learning to focus on the go while protecting herself and others. She'd have to be able to fight, shield, and stay alive, all at once. Mac and Wes were separated and couldn't teleport, so Izzy was trying to get them back together before running back to me. She was having limited success. Leah had just cornered Izzy and Wes against some trees and Wes was having problems holding Leah away from them. She was tired and Mac had been told not to lend her strength or abilities of his. She had to be able to fight alone. It seemed as though two of them would fail when…

"Let's try a burnout, Jake!" Izzy shouted.

She whispered something quickly to Wes before the two of them ran towards Leah. Izzy began to spin them and Wes used a combination of her power and the centripetal force they generated to lift herself off the ground. When Izzy spun her high enough, they let go and Wes used her power to steer her way through the air to land on top of one of the pack members as he ran towards Mac.

While all eyes followed Wes through the air, Izzy centered herself finding my end of the bond in the space between us and, with my help, forming the safe place that let me come out from where I'd hidden.

Mac and Wes popped in next to us, the training exercise completed successfully. Jacob ran up to us grinning wildly. He picked Izzy up and spun her around, laughing.

"Way to go, Biker Chick. And still spinning a bit too much on your burnouts!"

My Bella smiled back joyously and I gave him a pat on the back as she answered, "It's more fun that way, and no one crashed this time!"

It occurred to me that this involved a story that she hadn't told me and I realized that in all the Watcher business, she'd spent her time outside of school surrounded by us. I'd whined to Jamie the last time she'd taken time for herself but, as I stood with her next to an acquaintance of mine who was a dear friend of hers, I realized how much I loved her capacity to surprise me, and his to make her feel capable and independent. I promised myself that I would work harder to offer her time with other people.

My love was loved by others, and I couldn't begrudge anyone for seeing what I did.

The moment ended when Sam growled at us. The touching moment had managed to start the impression that none of us were serious about the risks ahead.

Added to that mess was that while the Watchers handed Jamie the right to take his vengeance and win our safety, job of moving us towards battle was being shared by some ten odd people from the Watchers alone. Our semi-leaderless non-hierarchy works for what we are most of the time, but shifting who calls the shots and voting a lot are not common strategies of war for a reason.

Amidst the struggles involved in trying to plan for battle with traditional Watcher ethics in mind, there was the greater problem of our lacking information about our enemy. Carlisle knew much about them and, in the times of day when we were too tired or hungry to train, he shared his knowledge, but it had limits.

Near the middle of the week, days before the battle, he spoke with us while Nicco and Alba prepared an early dinner for us at the Cullens' home.

"Is there any way that we might be able to weaken them? Could we stir up some personal trouble?" Wes had asked.

Carlisle thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "They have, to my knowledge, lived together contently for a very long time. The main three and their mates rarely leave the city, as you know, so they've had eons to grow close. Even their guard members come to them of their own free will, at least by appearances."

"Wait," Mac said, his head tilting slightly as he spoke, "they've all been in the same place for centuries with no major arguments? Wes and I are halves of the same soul, and even we…okay, bad example, but most Matches do need time apart or a good fight or even both in order to stay sane."

"Even so," Izzy pointed out, "it would take more than a few centuries worth of roommate drama to make one of them up and quit in the midst of battle."

"But what if there is more?" Mac shot back.

"And truly there may be," Alba said as she stuck something in the oven, "My family has watched them from a distance for centuries, observing their movements but seeing little of their personal lives. Even so it is told that once, before the birth of the blessed virgin, and before the very founding of Rome, there was a great brightness in the Volturi. This thing shined a light so bright that for a time, it was wondered if they might forsake their vying for control and simply exist as the gods and goddesses they appeared to be. It is no longer known when the it first shone, parts of the story were lost in time and in the handing of the story around Watchers of Europe as countries rose and fell and as the Volturi moved. It is known though that the brightness lasted for several lifetimes, at least, before it vanished. Some believe that the gods sent a cold wind and blew it out, like a candle, to repay them for their ills. Others admit that they simply do not know."

Alba paused for a moment before shaking her head and coming back to the present moment, "It's little more than a bedtime story now, but I tell it to say that there is much of their history that lies shrouded in such myths. Mac is right to believe there may be secrets that we have not discovered."

The Volturi's age was one of their greatest advantages, cloaking them in a shield of secrecy that could only be negated by information gathered during the battle.

* * *

One of the final things that I'll share with you about the week leading up to the battle has to do with the one who made it necessary.

It was the night before the Volturi were set to arrive. We'd kept the training light that evening. There'd been breaks so that people in various time zones could call home and we'd finished early to allow people to take what time they could with their Matches (in our case), and with their families (in the case of the pack, Izzy, Jamie and I). Izzy had gone home and cooked for Charlie and confirmed that he would be spending the day with Sue Clearwater and Billy. Izzy watched an old western with him before going to bed, then sneaking over to my house for a late dessert with us. We endured my mother's doting and relaxed in my father's calming presence with Jamie and Leah for as long as we could before Izzy and Leah both left for the night.

I was wandering around again, and I'd checked all the locks and the windows. I was heading back to my room when I heard him.

"Jack. Come here," he hissed urgently through the door.

It was Andrew. I went and grabbed the key for the door and stood outside of it.

"Jack," he called out again.

"I'm here, what do you need?" I asked softly. The battle was hours away overly I was overly conscious of the fact that I was one of the last people he'd speak to before he met his fate.

"Come in?" he asked.

I did and sat next him on the bed.

"I just need for someone to know some things before, well… before," he sighed before turning to me and saying, "Look me in the eyes."

I did.

"I like you. You seem like a good kid, and that Match of yours seems to have been good for you. I'm sorry I hurt her during the chase," he started. It was all true.

"I'll let her know," I told him.

"I've been cruel; hurt a lot of people, more than I could ever have made up for, but I need someone to know that I love my family, even Haydn, the self-righteous dick that he is, and Marian, who has only the smallest glimpse of me as something besides a traitor. My wife was a good friend to me." he said, starting slowly but gaining speed. "God, it's so… What do you say when the times running out? I loved a girl, I loved a dream and another one died, but one got new chance, and I hurt everyone but goddamn it I love her. The lifetimes I've imagined with her… You're gonna graduate high school soon, so I don't expect you to understand but…."

"I have Izzy, I get it," I told him, "but none of this helped Emilia. She was gone before you ever knew who killed her, and you still don't really know. You're right, this is crazy, and maybe there's no sense that can be made of it, but nonsensical is not morally neutral."

Izzy had been listening across the bond, and she made a suggestion for how I should continue, and because the women in my life are all smarter than me, I said, "You really fucked up, Andrew, but for what it's worth, the sky is still up there and these were not your last words. You'll see another sunrise. You can never fix it, but where there's life there's hope, and there's a chance to do better."

Then I did something that she didn't suggest.

I put an arm around his shoulder and I gave him probably the last hug he'd ever get regardless of what the next day brought. "Can I get you anything?" I asked, standing to leave.

"Can you take me outside, let me feel the night air again?" he asked.

"Hell no," I said without hesitation.

"Smart young man," he replied before turning to look out of the window, through the everything proof glass, breathing slow and deep as though he could really taste the damp air beyond it. "Thanks."

I walked back to Jamie's room, because Nicco and Alba were sleeping in mine, and slipped in quietly. He was still awake.

"Hey, Jay-bird," I whispered, sitting next to him and leaning into his side as he wrapped an arm around me. "It's scary."

"Hey, Nimble," he whispered back. "Alex talked me into being a Watcher by saying I could protect you. I'll keep trying."

As I fell asleep, I thought about the coming battle. Before I faded into dreams, I whispered, "We all will."

* * *

Hey guys, I'm deeply sorry for how long this took, but it is easily the longest chapter I've ever written and my editors wanted me dead for it, so know that I've risked my life to make you lot happy.

Guys, I've missed you all and I really want reviews from this chapter because I put a lot of work into it and because I'm writing the battle scene in the next chapter as you read this and reviews make it more fun. Tell me whatever you like in your reviews, favorite characters, favorite part of this epic long chapter, favorite quote, or even just an 'I'm still here' but please review, even anonymously if you need to.

This was a long one, so I'll try to be brief. There was a lot of important stuff in this chapter, don't let the length make you lose things in the middle. I love you all, Welcome to all the people who found this story and its predecessor since I last updated. You guys are all loyal and amazing and wonderful and anyone who reviews will get a prize (I promise).

See you next chapter! P_M


	30. Leah and Action or Death and Fire

The sky was not red on the morning of the battle; it was the grayish color of a sunrise hidden in the clouds. I flew beneath those clouds in the calm grim dregs of a night about to end. There was a battle field to prep and I needed to find Jamie.

Moments before, I'd left my mother in the kitchen. She'd gotten up early and made Seth and I chocolate chip pancakes.

"Your father would be so proud of you," she'd said, failing to hold back the sadness in her voice. "Both of you off to fight for a better world. Our people go with you, regardless of what form you take when you fight."

Seth sat straighter after that, looking almost comical in his sudden self importance. There was chocolate smudged on his cheek, and I wanted to take him back to his room and sit him down and lecture him until he turned back into a ten year old. I wished suddenly and fiercely that he could still be my baby brother, to protect and nurture.

I couldn't hold him and block out the fear like Jamie did for Jack. We'd seen too much of each other, some things that siblings weren't meant to see, and I'd hurt and left him along with the rest of the pack, but God, Jesus, and all spirits holy and saint-like I wished that I could hold him back from the ugliness of Volturi and the bloodshed that would end either their reign or our lives.

When we had to leave to join the others, Mom grabbed us one at a time into tight hugs and spoke to us.

To me, she said, "My Leah, my child of two hearts, two sides, you'll fight without their voices so take mine. In my heart I'll call you home. Come back to me, my girl. Thank the ones who've shown you love, stay gone as long as you need to show it back to them, but please, for all the battles when I'll have to trust, without seeing you, that your heart still beats, and that you haven't gone to rest with your father, come home."

In response I whispered a weak, "I love you." Then I stepped aside and let my mother hold her son.

When we walked out the door together I turned to him and, trying hard to push past the strangeness that had settled between us, I hugged him.

"No matter how mad I was at them, or how much I gained from leaving the pack, or how hurt I was by Sam, I always loved you more, Seth. You know that, right? And that we'll have time to work everything else out? This is just today, Seth," I told him frantically as we walked towards the road. Jacob was waiting in that car of his to take him to meet Sam and the others at Emily's house. Time was short.

"I know, Leah," he replied, giving me a one armed hug. "Don't worry so much. We get to burn off some Leeches today!"

I felt vaguely sick that my brother was excited about this, but I found it in me to smile at him and say, "Give 'em Hell, and save some for the others."

The grin he shot back at me could have lit up the sky. I turned and started to transform when I heard Jacob's voice.

"Hey, Leah! Want a ride to Emily's? You could fly on from there if you need to," Jacob offered.

It had been a while since I'd hung out with him, and I was hesitant to leave my brother sooner than I had to, so I took him up on it and got into the back seat of the car. Jacob turned the key in the ignition and we started off.

"So how is everyone?" I asked, suddenly curious. "I haven't seen anyone besides you two human for a while."

"We're good," Jacob replied. "Don't know how much more I can say. S'weird that talking to you is some kind of diplomatic event these days."

"But it's not," I shot back. "You can tell me anything you want. There's a weird mind thing, a soul thing really, but it's not like pack. I can choose what I share, and I can trust Jamie to keep our secrets, just as he trusts me."

"Sounds great," Jake sighed. "You and Bella- I mean Izzy – you guys seemed to get just what you needed. That's…great."

"Second chances happen, Jake," I sighed back. "I can't help but believe that. You'll get yours. Now tell me how insane Emily is driving Sam over the wedding plans."

Jacob and Seth both laughed out loud before telling me about nightmares of Sam's that had come through the pack mind. They featured, among other things, him being strangled by guest lists as seating charts looked on in amusement.

Soon enough we pulled up to Emily's house.

When I got out of the car and saw Seth walking towards the door, I called out to him.

"Seth! I…" I faltered not knowing what to say.

He turned and ran back to me, giving me a quick hug. "It's just today, Leah. I'll be careful."

It wasn't enough, it couldn't be, but I smiled and asked him to send Emily out so I could say hi. Then I let him go, unsure if I'd ever see him again.

"We'll look out for him, don't worry," Jacob said, getting out of the car and coming to stand next to me. I thought about Sam.

"Look after both of them, please, and yourself and those friends of yours too. And I'll keep an eye out for Izzy. If Charlie keeps hanging out with my mother, she may be my sister soon enough," I promised and observed in return.

Emily came out and Jake left to join the pack.

"Leah!" she cried throwing her arms around me.

"I'm late, but I just wanted to see you again before everything happens," I told her, hugging her back. "I'm gonna dance at your wedding and spoil your babies some day, I swear it."

"You'll do more than dance," she replied. "We've still got work to do. Now go before they think we're holding you up."

"Send me off?" I asked and she nodded, holding out her arm.

I shifted, becoming a hawk, and beat my wings to fly up and land between her elbow and wrist.

With all of her strength she held firm as I took off from her arm. It took all of mine to put away the warmth and love of my family to focus on the battle ahead and on the curiously beautiful gray of a hidden sun rising.

* * *

From the sky I could see several strategically placed bushes that I knew from planning sessions earlier in the week hid fire pits that would be lit when the fighting started. Also hidden were the flame throwers that everyone who would be human for most of the battle was wearing. Razi was keeping them, and other weapons, invisible, and had been since they got to the clearing.

The Watchers were dressed casually in the muted colors that most were used to training and spying in. Most stood in pairs, touching their Matches in some way. People in the same groups (offense, defense, and Oddballs) were close to each other though we wouldn't actually be fighting in those groups. It wasn't like at the cemetery; there were no avenging angels now. There were just people, tired and anxious and wiping sleep from their eyes and shivering in the cold, wet air of a morning in Forks, Washington. How could these people take on vampire royalty?

At the back of the group and held slightly above the ground in the grip of Wes's power, Andrew stared around , searching, I suppose after hearing of Jack's conversation with him, for some good that he could do; a step towards redemption. I caught his eye as I landed but I couldn't think of anything to say that I hadn't already, and I needed to find Jamie. I moved on, finding him towards the front of the crowd, talking with Izzy.

"-gotten all the advantage we could have out of them believing us to be ignorant for our reasons for coming here. I say we just start and not count on both our collective ability to hold onto courage with them staring us down and our collective ability to act," he said practically.

Marian, who'd been standing nearby piped in, declaring, "The sooner we start, the sooner we end, and the sooner we eat that victory meal Izzy promised us this morning. Alba said she'd make cannoli for it."

They turned to Adi and Indah, who used their power to tap into bonds and communicate with us through the bond summarizing their concerns and putting it to a vote: for once we'd just go with a majority. We were running out of time.

I'll spare you the long version of the vote – Marian wasn't the only one eager to be done with the good fight to get to the good food. We voted to go with Jamie's plan, to cut the crap and cut them down before we lost our courage.

The Cullens arrived during the vote and spread themselves among us. Edward in particular made a beeline for Mac and Wes. He looked nervous or conflicted somehow and Alice kept glancing at him with an interested expression on her face.

A few minutes later Sam came running up, wearing only a pair of baggy black shorts.

"We're here. They've been positioned where we discussed," he told us. He looked over at me and after everyone turned to Izzy, who'd be giving the crowd a final pep talk and instructions, he mouthed "see you on the dance floor" and I knew he'd talked to Emily. Part of me would always be just a little angry with Sam for how things went down, but I nodded back, sending up a quick prayer for him.

"It's almost time," Izzy announced. "Show strength or fake it. This is the first action for a lot of us. Let's show them that the might of our predecessors persists and multiplies in us. The Volturi have believed themselves to be the law for longer than any of us have been alive. Today we'll show them how wrong they've been. Allies, thank you all for agreeing to aid us. If ever we can return the favor, please let us know. Everyone, remember, we're gathering intelligence even as we fight – if you see an advantage, spread the word and act on it if possible. Keep your ears open and trust each other. Keep moving, tired is not an option so let's end this as fast as we can. We've been through all this. After everything is done those who are able should meet back here or send word of where you are and what you need. No one leaves here until everyone is accounted for. Now get to your positions!"

Immediately we spread out on our half of the clearing. Jamie and I went to stand near the center, Izzy and Jack joining us. I stood on Jamie's left and Jamie's parents and Sam formed a loose group to the left of us. Izzy stood on Jamie's right, with Haydn, Colby, Carlisle and Esme on her right. Edward was behind them a bit. Further back, closer to the tree-line were The Magic Act and the Rave Twins. Alba and Nicco stood near them: Alba, with her ability to age things stood to do some interesting damage during the battle. Nicco was carrying a water bottle and small snacks that he could replicate if needed. Adi and Indah were back there too, preparing for their first task, signaling all of Watchers to fight. Britta, Reynaldo, Delshad, Navid, Indrani, Elisa, and Sherwood had all been instructed to take places in the woods, filling gaps where there weren't enough pack members. This was not a role to be taken lightly. They were placed as they had been because they could use stealth to their advantage, or for other strategic reasons. With Haydn and his healing ability at the front, having Robin and Marian in the back made even more sense: Robin was a doctor and between the two of them we had hope that major injuries could be taken care of.

Mac and Wes grabbed Andrew and popped away to somewhere out of sight, and within moments of everyone reaching their places Edward announced, "They're coming."

Sure enough, long minutes later, we could see them sweeping in like a wide dark wind; a consuming shadow on the land with their grey and black cloaks. With effortless precision the guard parted and allowed the heads of their clan and their wives to step forward.

I looked away from them and stared at Jamie from the corner of my eye. Across the bond he responded as I hoped he would.

"_You're staring again." _

"_Only because I love you,"_ I replied.

He fought a smile as he told me, "_I love you too, my beautiful dangerous Match. Always."_

Finally they came to a stop and Aro, Caius, and Marcus stepped forward. Renata trailed silently and closely behind Aro, protecting him with her shielding abilities as she always did.

"Isabella! My young friend, it is wonderful to see you again," Aro proclaimed. "Though I admit to some confusion. I believed that we would be meeting the heads of your organization, but so many of you are so young!"

"Plans change," Izzy replied insouciantly. "My associates and I recently learned that we've a mutual acquaintance that you failed to mention."

She looked around, eyes wide with mocking concern as she called, "Oh Andrew! Where are you?"

Mac and Wes appeared behind us with Andrew in between them and I, Jamie, Izzy, and Jack parted to our respective sides to allow them to step forward. We watched as it registered in Aro's eyes exactly what Andrew's presence and his lack of freedom must mean.

Jamie stepped forward, away from his place at my side, and addressed the Volturi.

"Let's get to the point, Aro. We both know why we're here."

Aro sighed. "The matter of this little impasse of ours. We cannot stand by and let you threaten us with impunity."

"And we can't let you live since you've killed one of our own," Jamie responded. Aro blinked in consternation. I noticed the fear that flashed across Renata's face. The unseen book had failed to note that not all the members of the Volturi guard were warriors, but clearly that was the case. I refused to feel pity.

"Are you sure you'd like to go through with this? One Watcher hardly made that much of a difference to your organization."

Jamie glanced back at the crowd of Watchers as though inviting them to consider this, or to reply in his stead. Wes opened her mouth at the same time as everyone else, but Haydn, with his superior bantering skills, managed to speak first.

"Let's dance, you bastard."

"Yeah," Wes said after a second. "What he said."

Aro smiled, sure of his invincibility, and replied, "If that's what you've decided. Carlisle, old friend, you stand with them?"

Carlisle only stared back.

"Very well," he said turning to the others and, as the four of them turned and walked a few steps back to stand beside their wives, added, "Such a shame to lose old friends."

Caius stared at us all, a hungry grin beginning to form on his face as he murmured a single word. "Alec."

Alec and Jane stepped out of the crowd. I felt silly for not having noticed their small forms sooner. Alec's power began to creep toward us, a strange translucent haze that would steal from us the ability to fight back if it reached us; blinding, deafening and numbing us all. I shivered.

Then suddenly it swept back towards them and Alec fell to his knees.

The battle began not with a bang, but a whimper.

* * *

Wes dropped Andrew, letting him stand and act under his own power as the guard members moved toward us. At my side, I felt Jamie tense and the ground ahead of us began to shake. I shifted forms, becoming a falcon, and flew up. The two of us weren't aware of our joined Match power yet, so we had to combine our talents on our own.

I got my bearings in the air in just enough time to see Sam running back towards our side. As we'd planned he was leading some of them off, away from us and toward the other pack members. Unplanned was Andrew chasing after him.

While they ran, so did Izzy and Jack, forming the Safe Place around the elder Stevens as they used their joined ability to turn Alec's power back on him, giving us a fighting chance. Izzy carried most of the mental strain of holding up the shield as Jack searched for pair of eyes that could bring us truths amidst the chaos. Trust that the word chaos accurately described the scene, as Wes moved the cover from the fire pits, using them as kindling to turn smoldering coals to lethal flames, and as Jane took torturous vengeance for the harm to her twin. Esme screamed as Jane's power sent her to her knees, and I saw Colby leave Haydn's side to grab her arm and protect her with his power, which nullified others as Carlisle, seeing Colby coming, ran up to guard Hade. When Esme stood, free of pain, she swung Colby onto her back and in an instant the four of them were standing together, only to have Haydn dart forward and show us that he'd been placed in the defensive group only for the sake of even numbers.

Meanwhile, Andrew caught up to Sam and I flew over to them to see what was going on, to see if I could help. I passed the center of our side, left deliberately open to give people space to fight. Wes was dominating there, with Mac at her back wielding his flame thrower as she slowly dismantled five different vampires at the same time. She held them in a loose circle around herself and her match, effectively shielding them from further attack

"Let me help you! They're following you! They'll kill you!" Andrew shouted to Sam, and I realized what he must think about this seeming human running from the cold ones, who'd slowed their pace only because he might lead them to others. Andrew hadn't practiced with us, had no way of knowing that Sam was leading them on purpose or that Sam was slightly more than human.

There were three cold ones chasing close behind them and they'd nearly reached the trees when I realized, too late to fly down and help, that another was waiting just ahead of them.

There was a blood chilling sound, a roar of pain and fear that broke off as the cold one waiting in the trees rushed forward, slashing at Sam. I was sure that he wouldn't have enough time to phase, but by some miracle he did. He forced the dark haired Italian looking cold one back into the woods, tearing at it with his claws.

I smelled blood and saw other cold ones coming. I nearly flew back to Jamie, certain that there was little I could do, assuming that it was Sam's blood that I smelled, because Sam, like all the pack members, would heal quickly. Then it hit me; if it was Sam's blood, then why was the scent getting stronger?

Oh God, I realized, I'd forgotten Andrew.

I smelled him before I saw him, flickering into view as his body weakened too much to maintain the power that made others blind to him.

His throat had been slashed, among other things. I found him lying on his side in the dirt, stunned and broken beyond all hope of survival, his eyes were losing focus as he stared into the shadows of the woods in front of him. I phased back into human form beside him and knew that this was what the Watchers had intended. Like a traitor to the English crown centuries before, Andrew was meant to come to this field and to die, a man hanged by a noose of his own making, drawn to this place by those he most loved and torn apart, bleeding alone on cold ground.

I knew, looking at him, what had given Sam time to phase. In that instant I decided that though he was a traitor, and dying a traitor's death, I owed him something for that final act of sacrifice. I put my hand in his and told him, "Thank you from my people, and from Emily."

"Em…Em," he tried to force out and his eyes seemed to focus just a little before the hand in mine went cold. He did not die alone.

I phased into a cheetah and knocked a cold one to the ground before shifting into an elephant on top of her, grabbing her with my trunk and smashing her into a nearby rock so hard that she splintered, venom wetting her clothes on the side where she'd impacted the rock. Then I tossed her into a fire pit before becoming a bird and calling to Jamie from the air, "_Need me_?"

"_Always_," he replied. "W_e're struggling up here and Alec is back in action. We're moving back and we need some people from back there up here clearing the way. A group of them headed towards the woods and the people there need warnings. Edward is getting Sherwood because mom thinks they can help. Everyone else is needed, can you-_"

"_I'll go tell Adi and Indah. Please be careful_," I shot back, turning in the air. As I flew I saw what Jamie meant when he said that they were struggling. Wes, tired from her earlier exertions and still not so used to pacing herself in the context of battle, had turned to the defensive. She and Mac were helping to hold their position. Haydn was still fighting. His healing ability came in two parts: the ability to sense the injury and the ability to correct it. Used offensively, his powers give him total control over bodily functions and processes of all sorts. At the moment he was speeding up the metabolisms of the cold ones one at a time, making them weak with hunger and easily dispatched by Carlisle, Edward, and Esme.

The group could hold out and survive as they were if not for Alec's power creeping towards them. I flew with all haste and found them and the others engaged in a struggle of their own, though thankfully faring much better. The Rave twins and The Magic act where using their abilities to trick the five or six cold ones into running deeper into the forest, where the Pack members were waiting. I flew into the woods trying to find someone who could point me to Adi and Indah, or at least to give the two pairs up front a chance to get far enough in their battles that my distracting them wouldn't get them killed. I knew I'd flown too far when I saw Jacob, still in wolf form, with Quil and Embry, fighting a pair of guard members. Jacob snatched one out of the air as it pounced toward Embry, tearing off its arm in the process and Seth leaped out, pinning the other one. Quil and Embry made quick work of tearing both of them apart. The twins Delshad and Navid jumped down from the trees and carefully worked at burning the remains without starting a forest fire.

I shifted back to human form saying, "Adi and Indah?"

"Near the front," they said at the same time. I transformed back into a bird, a smaller one this time, and flew back to the front where I saw The Magic Act.

"Guys, we need help at the front line. Alec is back in action and they need some help fighting their way further back to give plan B a chance, where are Adi and-"

Razi's and Daniel shared a glance and suddenly Adi and Indah, the two Watchers I'd been sent to find, appeared to be standing where Razi and Daniel had only moments before. Nicco and Alba stood beside them though I hadn't seen them there a moment ago.

"We're over here," the real Razi and Daniel called from a few feet away. They'd hidden the pair in plain sight using their own images while they'd disappeared into the background of the illusions they used against the guard members. They'd hidden Nicco and Alba by weaving in the illusion of their invisibility.

I delivered the message and heard it again in my mind as she sent it out to everyone who needed to know and wasn't being contacted by someone else, and then we were off moving back up the field. I ran beside them in human form this time, tired of flying above it all and watching Alec's haze move forward, noticing that Jane appeared to be concentrating and realizing that the bond was oddly quiet from Jamie's end…

I became a cheetah before I thought about it and leapt over the line of vampires that were holding them as they tried to retreat. I landed near Jamie just as Alec's power crept over him and my world dissolved into physical numbness and emotional turmoil.

"Jamie!" I screamed across the bond, scared to death but not wholly destroyed because the bond was still there. He was still the nagging feeling of something not lost but gone in my mind. He and my fear were all that I had for a moment: I couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't smell, or feel, or even taste the tears that some part of me knew must be flooding down my face. Alec had us in his grip, would surely soon have all of the others. Maybe the Wolves could run. There was no need for my mother to lose both of us in the same day. Goddammit, and I was just getting the hang of the whole Spock-like child of two worlds, Watcher, girlfriend thing. I was _just- _

"_Leah! Calm Down!" _Jamie's voice sounded in my head. "_We are not dying. Izzy and Jack have a small shield up but with Colby here it's hard to shield us all. They don't know what's stronger, his nullifying powers or their safe place. No one is sure what would happen to Colby in the long run if Jack and Izzy's shield saw his power as a safety threat, and it's hard to attack through a shield, so we're giving Hade and Colby a chance to amp up the Rave Twins, while Britta and Reynaldo and my parents try to get Alec under control. " _

"_Jamie, did Jane..?"_ I asked hoping that getting the answer that I'd leapt into this for would help me deal with not feeling my body.

"_I'm fine_," he replied abruptly.

The rage I felt in that instant was blinding, and I regretted that I couldn't feel my body. Part of me wondered if this would be enough to make me become, literally, the same sort of bitch I'd once been. Another part of me wondered the same thing in a more figurative sense; I'd seen myself after losing Sam: if something happened to Jamie would I be the same sort of bitch to my new group that I'd been to the old?

"Well you won't find out today," Jamie pointed out, "and for what it's worth I think you'd have heard a pack member or two by now if you'd phased into one of them. I'm fine just be ready when you get feeling back. I swear I'll get checked out by both Hade and Robin when we're done."

"Jamie, I'm sorry we didn't get to do this side by side. I should have… what's poking me. I can feel! Why can't I see?"

Finally, out loud I heard him say, "Open your eyes! You have got to see this!"

My body stung from having dropped awkwardly to the ground. I'd been numb when I landed and unable to adjust my position. I felt bruises forming on one of my legs and near that hip I felt the odd crawl of either sweat or blood through fur.

I shook my head as I stumbled to four feet and shifted to human form in time to see the Rave twins wielding staffs of glowing light, fighting the cold ones that had prevented our retreat.

We were back in the game.

Nicco ran over and tossed Mac and Wes water bottles as Haydn and Colby moved farther away from Izzy and Jack. They extended their shield to give us rest and moment to plan. I looked to Jamie, taking in his dirty blond hair and green eyes and his scars before looking around and trying to assess the situation.

The field was a sight, covered in smoldering remains and ashes. On one side of us Aro, Caius, Marcus, two mates, Chelsea, Renata, Felix, Demitri, and Jane were dividing their attention between watching us with barely concealed fury and trying to find the source of Alec's trouble.

On the other my friends fought at close range, trying to combine their powers as efficiently as they had during practice, but the enemy was so fast and there seemed a never ending supply of them. I squeezed Jamie's hand as I tried to look for a way back into the fight. I considered attacking Jane but knew that if I tried I wouldn't make it two steps in her direction.

"Ready guys?" Izzy asked. "They need you; can we pull the shield in tighter and let you out?"

We, Jamie and I, and Mac and Wes were about to rejoin the fray when Edward ran forward carrying Robin. The rest of the Cullen family came up close behind them. I felt the shield slide back over me, though Wes and Mac popped out of it and moved to help Alba and Nicco, who were having some trouble. Edward literally dropped Robin and went to help them. Distantly I noticed Felix and Demitri move to join the fight as Jamie asked Robin, "Where's Marian, is she okay?"

A strange expression crossed his face before he replied, "She's alive. She and the pack are still fighting back there – I think one of the pack members might be hurt but that's not what I need to report. You guys know I see things with my power? Well, I saw some things while we were fighting that make me think someone is controlling a lot of them. I'm seeing a pattern. They looked bored at first or frustrated, there was despair there. They also aren't fighting as hard as they could be. I think one of them is making them stay with the Volturi and I think I can see who if you can give me a minute. Jack, can you help me without dropping the shield?"

"You got it," Jack replied.

The two of them began to stare over towards the Volturi and I moved to leave the shield to go help but Jamie stopped me.

"I'll go. When they find something let me know and we'll both try and get the message to Adi and Indah."

Izzy let Jamie out of the shield and I stared around at the battle raging outside. In the background, Jack and Robin were murmuring observations aloud, an odd soundtrack to the strange scene playing out in front of me.

"Marcus doesn't want to be here but he feels he can't leave. He's lost someone," Jack mumbled. Robin was at his side; his back to Jack's arm, his eyes tracing back and forth. "They glance over at their leaders when they're wounded, over to their side at someone. They have the same frustration."

Wes was holding a cold one, Felix, in place with her power as Alba used her power to do the impossible. The years flashed on Felix's face each bringing new lines, wrinkles, grey hair. Sounds escaped his mouth pained cries, pleas that I still hear in my nightmares, until Jack and Izzy's safe place proved how much more than a shield it was as Izzy and Jack added to their definition of security and kept sounds out where before they'd only kept sound from escaping. The sounds broke off and I and the elder Stevens who were still working to help keep Alec from affecting us were left to watch the battle with only the ongoing chatter of Jack and Robin as they struggled to find information. Nicco was standing nearby as Rosalie and Emmet guarded him and Mac, both of whom stood ready with flame throwers, occasionally shooting to help others fighting nearby.

"I can't see their eyes. Which should I focus on?" Jack continued.

"The woman, the one who's not standing with the others; they're looking at her, see if you can get something from her," Robin ordered. "Wes can get you eye contact just let the sounds out."

Jack and Izzy nodded and Robin yelled, "Wes, we need a head turned, woman on the far left."

Wes was still holding an aging Felix, his hair all white and his eyes… somehow his eyes were beginning to lighten as if because of cataracts.

"Kinda busy here, guys!" she said turning her head.

There was a sickening crack and then a lot of things happened at the same.

Felix stopped aging as Alba, beautiful Alba, who'd endured the ravages of life as an Italian Watcher with the Volturi in power, who, strong like her Italy, still cherished her life there and gloried in day-to-day and ordinary, crumpled to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Nicco fell as she did, collapsing in soul deep agony as death severed the bond, tearing his soul. He scrambled towards her body, trying to disprove with his senses what his soul already knew.

Wes dropped Felix , shouting "Rose!"

Rosalie took over the fight with Felix, tearing him apart as the Watchers fought harder in their grief. Wes levitated Nicco over towards us as Jack and Izzy expanded the shield, bringing him into it.

Emmet was fighting with Demitri, who'd killed Alba, and Wes used her power to float Mac over to Edward, who'd just killed another of the guard members and needed fire, before using it to turn Chelsea's head toward Jack.

"It's her she's making them stay! She's…"

Adi and Indah were banging on the shield trying to get in and Jack and Izzy let them.

"I know a light-bulb moment when I see one," Indah said, "and he knows better than to try and stop me. Do we have more information?"

"We need the one that Wes is holding dead… well more so, soon." I summarized.

Adi and Indah used their joined power and got the message to Wes, who replied.

"She says she can break her up but that someone would have to get there with the flames, someone fast and not Edward, though I don't think she meant to send that part," Adi told us, managing small smile at the end, in spite of everything.

"Emmett!" Mac yelled and tossed him his flamethrower.

Then with a shattering sound and a final scream, Chelsea was broken into half a dozen pieces that fell to still shaking ground. Jamie and his earthquakes had scarcely faltered since he'd rejoined the fray.

Emmett raced forward, wielding the flame thrower only to be knocked off of his feet by Aro, who'd moved for the first time since the battle began. He tore at Emmett, nearly ripping off his arm. For once, the terrified Renata stayed behind, standing frozen next Marcus, and Jane and…

"Let Alec go, Adi, Indah, tell Britta and Reynaldo to stop too," Robin ordered. "If he tries to hurt us you can start again."

They sent out the message and sure enough Alec stood beside his sister who, once sure that he was all right, turned her eyes on Aro, Caius, and Marcus.

Their screams filled the air for a long moment. Then the vampire twins joined hands and, without so much as a backward glance, walked off. Chelsea's power had forced their loyalty for the majority of their lives as vampires… and now they were free.

While they writhed on the ground Rosalie ran up to Emmett, taking the flame thrower he'd dropped and lighting Chelsea's remains on fire before making sure that Emmett was okay. Then she turned towards Aro and waited. It took about a minute for Jane's power to let up, but it did.

As Aro stood, he turned toward us, and Jack saw a truth that had been all to long hidden.

Jack dropped Izzy's hand and stepped forward.

"You killed your sister," he said, horrified, "because she wanted to leave and take Marcus with her."

Marcus had just found his feet, still standing near Caius, but at that pronouncement from Jack he moved like lightning, seeming to disappear from his place and reappear standing just in front of Aro, his hands tensing into claws at his side.

"You killed Didyme?" he growled. "All these years I've stood by you as your brother and you killed her? Tell me that the boy lies."

Aro glared back replying, "You've stood by me as a brother, have you? You would kill your brother over a woman?"

"Your sister! My happiness! My sun and moon and stars and you killed her!" Marcus roared. He attacked, wildly biting and tearing at all the stone-like flesh he could reach.

All other fighting ceased to witness this clash between royals.

Who before us had ever seen two of the Volturi leaders fight?

Aro toyed with Marcus, drawing out the fight and using it as a display of his power. He clawed at his Marcus's face and read his next move even as the venom leaked onto his fingers. Marcus ran up a tree and dove down at him, Aro snatched him out of the air and tore a piece out of his torso. If Marcus reached for his head he tore off a finger, and Marcus in his rage and agony didn't seem to care; not even when whatever bit that Aro tore from him was pitched straight into the fire still consuming Chelsea's remains.

Rosalie watched, her eyes cold and violent. Caius watched too, but his eyes were hot. It didn't take a mental power of any sort to read the greed on his face, the lust for power and the open enjoyment of the death and pain dancing in front of him.

Marcus managed to tear off one of Aro's hands with his teeth. He spat it out on the ground.

"You killed her, La mia Lucentezza, Splendore Mio." My brightness, I've since learned that he was saying. He used two different words for brightness, one used for stars and for eyes, the other for sunlight. "How could you?" he raged as he ran at Aro again. Aro calmly picked up his hand and put it back on while stepping to the side.

"Rather like this, I should think," Aro replied with a civility of tone that clashed horribly with his actions. He tore Marcus down the middle tossed the pieces into the flames.

Aro stood dusting himself off as he announced to the still watching crowd, "Did you see that coming, Alice dear? Or you, Isabella? Jamie? Did you see that? If he did not stand a chance, what prayer do you have? I am unstoppa-"

He stopped there. He didn't have much of a choice, since his head was no longer attached to his body. Rosalie held it in her hands casually, hair, for once, not quite perfect, and somehow that made her all the more beautiful - like some war goddess of legend.

If ever you find yourself wanting to so much as look at Emmett in a way that Rosalie would not find acceptable… don't.

The wives ran off then, as did Renata, and the few scattered other black robed figures that had wandered out of the woods at the sound of Marcus's anguished shouts. Demitri, who'd stopped fighting to watch the spectacle tried to slip away but Haydn made him produce more venom than his body could hold before Edward, who heard Haydn's plan, ran up behind and shoved Demitri's convulsing body into a still burning fire pit. The flames followed the steady lines of highly flammable venom into his eyes and nose and mouth, burning him from within.

There was only one more Volturi member left to deal with, and Rosalie turned her head to look at him as she toyed with Aro's head like a volleyball.

Caius snarled and gazed around at us, looking every inch a cornered animal. He moved to turn and run, hoping perhaps to gather a new army and come back when he thought that he could win, but he barely made it a step before an enormous red-brown shape dove out from the darkness of the woods behind him.

"Jacob!" Izzy shouted triumphantly as she recognized her friend. There were other shouts of his name and various encouragements as he tore Caius apart with his claws and teeth. As he finished, he seemed to slow down though, and I realized that I could smell blood again, fresh. And why was Jacob's fur so matted there, on his enormous lupine shoulder?

"Izzy, he's hurt!" I shouted running forward just as he collapsed and began to phase back to human form.

"Haydn!" Izzy called running at my side. We fell to our knees next to him, touching his face and hands.

There was a deep wound near the place where his neck met his shoulder. He was shaking.

"It's just today, Jake, you'll be fine, you'll get your second chance! Believe in second chances, Jake, don't die. You have to live to get it Jake," I ranted, starting at a yell and quieting as Izzy's voice joined mine.

"I love you Jake, please! For Billy, and the pack and God Jacob, this can't be it. You can't just die here."

Haydn ran around to Jacob's other side and Izzy and I, out of respect for some unspoken law of healing, pulled our hands back from him. Then out of some unspoken love for each other we clasped arms and hands instead.

The flesh in the wound began to knit itself back together… but it wasn't fast enough. Jacob stared at me then at Izzy as his eyelids began to droop.

I wish she could have smiled. He loved her smile, dreamed about it all the time. I wish we'd seen it faster, or that Jacob wasn't a stubborn bastard.

The wound healed still more, but still not enough.

Part of me that remained and still remains pack felt him slipping away. I asked him a question in the language of our people, "quo-oh-KAY-th-chuh?" Where are you going?

He gasped for breath and on the exhale he responded, "TAY-hwah-lee." I'm going home.

Still he stared at Izzy, but he did not draw breath again.

It was done.

* * *

Hey guys! Thanks for your tremendous support of me and this story, there are two more chapters to go and the outtakes so tell me what you thought of this one, and as a reward to people who reviewed after the last time I begged, you guys should send me your requests for outtakes, see the ones from waking up for ideas.

The phrases that Leah and Jacob use at the end of the chapter are spelled phonetically to avoid complications with the font. I got them from internets, and I use them with the utmost respect for that culture. The Italian that Marcus uses is a combination of different internet sites suggestions forgive me if it's wrong.

The top reviewers will be announced next chapter, and they get outtakes too. Please go nuts with these requests, the crazier/ more joyous/ more heartbreaking the better.

Next one should be out soon, it's half written already, your P_M


	31. Jamie and Grief or Fire and Life

Those first moments after the battle were insane to say the least. Leah and Izzy were sobbing over Jacob's body. I shared a glance with Jack and my parents, and we walked over to them together, Haydn sitting on one side of Jacob, Leah and Izzy weeping on the other. There was a sad task left to be done and neither should be forced to watch.

"Milady, come away, and leave Haydn to his work," Jack whispered.

"Leah, there's still work to do," I told my own Match, helping her to her feet. "Hade is just going to close his eyes and cover him up. My parents will both sit with him until the Pack gets here, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered hoarsely.

I looked around as we walked back. The fires were still burning making sure that that those within them stayed dead. Some of the Watchers had collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, as others watched the trees for signs that the pack was joining us again or hoping for sight of those of us who'd fought away from the wide clearing. Wes and Edward were making out rather enthusiastically while Mac comforted Nicco, who'd lost his wife and Match less than an hour before. Robin was walking back towards the…

What?

Oh you caught that, did you?

Wes and Edward were making out. You'll have to ask them, because I still don't understand it.

"Robin," I called, "Is she hurt?"

He knew that I was asking about Marian, the only one of the Georgia Watchers not immediately visible, and stopped walking back to reply, "I'm not sure."

"Hade, you coming with us?" I asked. He was still pretty close behind us.

"She's family," he said. He spaced out a bit before adding, "Colby will stay here, get people started cleaning up so we can all find a place to collapse, preferably together tonight. He wants to know if we know of any more…anyone else we lost, who shouldn't just be left here."

Leah tensed at my side and I sent her what strength I could spare across the bond. She nudged me with her shoulder in thanks as she told him, "Andrew. I'm sorry; he died saving Sam's life."

She pointed to a place at the edge of the woods. "He's over there, please…" she didn't know how to continue so she stopped.

Haydn's face darkened a little more but he sighed. "We'd never have left him. Come on, Robin's waiting."

When we caught up to Robin, the four us walked into the woods while he followed the bond like string leading him through a labyrinth.

We found her deep in the woods surrounded by trees and smoldering bodies.

She looked even smaller than normal and very tired, sitting with her back to a tree, legs folded as though she's just let herself slide to the ground. We stopped, letting Robin continue alone. He had to step over body parts to kneel beside her.

She leaned, almost fell, over, slipping into arms that he raised reflexively as she asked in a tiny, young sounding voice, "Can we go home now?"

Haydn stepped up and kneeled next to them, taking her hand. "Let me get rid of those scratches for you, cousin, then we'll work on that."

"Thought you didn't do paper cuts," she whispered.

"You're the exception," he replied quietly, and kindly added, "now shut it and feel special. Piggyback ride from me or Robin? Point."

She pointed to Robin, and Haydn helped her onto his back and held her hand as they slowly walked back. Leah and I lingered, making sure that none of the fires would get out of control and putting out those that had served their purpose until Adi and Indah spoke into the bond.

_Come join us in the clearing. None can leave till all are gathered. We have last rites to prepare for, and Leah your brother wants you. _

The instant we arrived, Mac and Wes popped out.

"They're getting shroud material," Izzy told me softly as we joined the group, a large circle with several pack members comprising one half and us and the Cullen family the other. "Your mother is going to explain."

My mother stepped into the center of the circle, my father right behind her. "We thank you all for your support and we grieve with you for your loss. Tonight before we sleep we must offer our dead their last rites, as you, I know, must prepare yours for his. Let us part to take this first night in grief among our friendly but still separate families and come together once more tomorrow as the sun sets to remember those we have lost today and before. Sam, will you and yours consent to mourn with us at sunset on your beach?"

Sam looked around at the pack and, when most offered subtle nods, replied, "We'll be there."

My mother turned to face us now. "Before we rest, the dead here must be shrouded and their funeral pyres prepared. Niccolo Renzo, my dear friend, would it serve you to aid in this, or would you rather rest a while?"

"I need to do this," he replied distantly.

Mac and Wes arrived bearing a large black box.

"Feel up to another trip?" My mother asked them. "We'll need axes."

They nodded.

Carlisle stepped forward before she could continue. "You all look as though you could use food and rest. Please, in return for the peace of mind you've granted us in bringing about the Volturi's end and to foster continued good relations in light of certain developments," he glanced back toward Edward and Wes who stood oddly close together, "let us do you the small service of preparing the pyres. Please, as a doctor I cannot recommend felling trees as a way to rest after battle."

"Let us do this," Wes replied. "Or better yet, allow me. I'll start after the pack leaves. We might need a few rides though."

Carlisle nodded, and the Cullen clan minus Edward ran off towards home. Wes, even a tired sad Wes, is a force of nature unparalleled.

Most of the wolves walked back to were Jacob's body lay; a pair of them had been watching it since they'd arrived. Adi and Indah carried a black cotton sheet from the box over to them and with Sam's permission, allowed them wrap Jacob's body tightly. Sam phased and knelt down, allowing them to tie the wrapped form to Sam's back. As they worked, Seth, in human form and covered up with another of the abandoned black robes, ran up and hugged Leah.

"I can't believe he-"Seth's voice broke and he swallowed, trying to hold it in.

"You weren't hurt?" she asked, loosening her arms and holding him more tentatively.

"My arm and a couple of my ribs were broken, but that dark haired scary guy fixed me up. You look rough though," Seth answered, taking in some of the visible scratches and bruises.

"His name's Haydn and I'll thank him for the thorough job. Can't hurt much if you're worried about my scratches," she said.

_Jamie, will we have time to stop by La Push for a bit? I know we're meant to grieve and rest with the Watchers tonight._

_We'll make time. It's time I lingered in your world with you as you have in mine. _

"Tell Mom we'll be along as soon as we can be spared," she told him.

The others were about to leave when Seth ran back towards them, transforming in mid stride, leaving the cape to blow off behind him. The pack slipped away then, slowly, mindful of the news and the remains that would have to be delivered when they arrived home. True to her word Wes got started on the wood chopping the moment they were out of sight.

And so it was that there, within hours of the battle that took their lives, Andrew Phillips and Alba Mariano were prepared for their funeral pyres. Several trees buckled and bowed before them, spreading themselves open like books, and kind hearts, and innocent souls; none of which should be burned, or lost, or stolen. They laid themselves on top of each other, their openness facing first the sky and then the backs of those laid on top of them, which they received with all the grace of mothers welcoming children into arms left too long empty.

Nearby, Niccolo, shaking and weeping and singing love songs in Italian, laid his wife on the center of a cotton sheet pulled out from the black box and surrounded her with copies of a dried rose that had sat on top of the fabric before removing her wedding ring from her hand. I watched as he tucked her in as though she were only sleeping for as long as I could bear it, then turned back to Leah, who was explaining to my parents, Haydn, and Mac how Andrew had died as my parents, with gloved hands, set his torn body onto a similar black sheet.

"He saved Sam's life and it was one of the bravest things I've ever seen," she told them.

"It wouldn't have been in danger if he hadn't started this, damn it, what was he thinking?" Haydn raged loudly.

"He wasn't," Jack replied. He and Izzy had been wandering around, tired but restless after having stood in one place for much of the battle. "He was feeling. He did what his heart told him was right, up until the last, and because his heart went into stasis when Emily left, it led him to do stupid, cruel, immature, inexcusable things until he let it grow up a little, and it finally got something right."

"What makes you the expert?" Haydn shouted at him. "I share blood with the man. Your parents have known him from infancy. What can you know about his heart that they don't?"

"I talked to him last night. He told me that he loved his family, named you specifically and Marian. He looked me in the eyes, and it was the truth. He loved you and that doesn't fix anything but it matters, doesn't it? Shouldn't it matter?"

I looked at Leah, who nodded slightly. I thought for a moment. Letting it matter was easier than hating a dead man.

"It does to me, Jack. Why don't you and Izzy go catch up with The Magic Act, you guys seem to have been getting along well," I said. There was so much emotion in Haydn's face… I thought he could use the time to rage and hurt without being challenged to do more.

When Wes finished using her power to make the pyres, two four foot high stacks of accelerant doused wood with about ten feet in between them, we gathered wordlessly. Andrew and Alba had each been lifted and placed carefully on their stacks by a pair of us, Haydn and Mac for Andrew, my mother and Nicco for Alba. There was a box of long matches in the big black box and we each took one; every Watcher present lit theirs and passed the box to the next.

As one, we moved and lit first Alba's, then Andrew's, and stepped back and watched and waited. Some of us meditated –I saw Indrani and Elisa settling in about ten minutes after we started – some of them slept, like Wes, who finally succumbed to her own exhaustion, though it was barely three in the afternoon. Haydn, Mac, Robin, and Marian sat beside each other, Marian dozing lightly on Robin's shoulder, Mac and Haydn just staring into the flames. Nicco stood off, slightly separated from the others, singing still more love songs, or perhaps lullabies and sometimes speaking into a cell phone, telling his children what had happened and putting them on speaker phone. Their prayers, and sobs, and yes, their songs too, added a quiet, loving soundtrack to the somber task.

Britta and Reynaldo were texting their families, as were several others. Kayla's expression was all at once curious and sad as she watched the pyres. I wondered if she was thinking about her parents. Though she'd been told that they'd died, she'd never given much thought as to the fate of their bodies. My parents were kissing, as were Adi and Indah not far from them. I looked away and tried to live in the moment.

I wasn't in the least bit ready to deal with my feelings over Andrew's death, so I focused on Alba, and on Alexandra, who'd been buried in ceremony led by her family's church and denied the raw beauty of living warriors sitting in the dirt and ignoring all laws of propriety as they coped with all the physical and spiritual realities of battle, and of her loss. Then again, what did I know? I'd been hospitalized already by the day of her funeral.

I shook my head and vowed to cradle every moment the way that Alba had held my mother's beat up everyday dishes. Then I kissed Leah, as I'd very much wanted to since I'd woken up that morning, and I forgave myself for loving the taste of her even through the salt of her tears, and mine.

It was about an hour into the cremation process, at about four in the afternoon, when my parents came over to us.

"Alice and Jasper are over there waiting to give you a ride as far as they can, then to let you borrow the car. Try to come back by seven, we're opening nearly all the doors in the house and having a massive sleepover with as much chocolate as I can find, since no one is quite up to a victory dinner," my mother rattled off easily but quietly.

"Remember," my father added, "no goodbyes, and try to save some fun stories for tomorrow after the remembering."

I hugged them both and smiled when Leah did the same. We left quietly, weaving through our friends and family to get to Alice and Jasper. They ran us up to the street, taking us as close to La Push as the treaty would allow. Then Leah took the wheel and, after thanking them profusely, we took the car straight to her house.

Sue Clearwater was waiting by the door when we pulled up and got out of the car. She watched silently as we approached. When Leah stood in front of her, she reached a hand up and touched a scratch on her face and a bruise on her arm.

"I'm fine mom," Leah murmured, reaching forward and hugging her. "I came back."

"You smell like smoke," her mother noted, stepping aside and waving us into the house.

"There were deaths besides Jacob's. The Watchers burned the bodies. There was all the smoke during the battle, too, burning the ones we killed," Leah explained quietly. "How's Billy?"

Sue shook her head. "Charlie is sitting with him, so he's not alone. I was going to go check on him after I heard from you. Would you like to walk down there with me? Jamie, is it? You're welcome to join us. I'm sorry, I've been distracted. You and that brother of yours alright?"

"Yeah, it's Jamie. We're both fine, and I'm…we…"

"He's with me," Leah simplified. "I'd rather he stay that way today, and I'm fine with following you around and helping out where we can, just as long as I can shower before we leave to go back at around six thirty."

Sue looked at me for a long moment, nodded, and walked over the refrigerator. She pulled out two sandwiches and bottles of water. "I made them in case you and Seth made it back for lunch, but the whole pack is at Emily's. Have them, and then we'll go check on Billy. On the way, you can talk to me about your intentions regarding my daughter."

"You'd do better to ask after her intentions regarding me. I'd very much like to grow old with her but beyond that, and the odd obligation from the Watchers, we're on her schedule. I'll try hard to only ever be a help to her," I replied easily before taking a bite out the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she'd set in front of me.

She looked at me critically before nodding, "As you should be. Though if you're going to grow old with her, I suppose it'd be alright if the two of you just wrote a new schedule together, and I trust that I've raised my girl strong enough to be a help to you as well."

She nodded about me then busied herself taking food off of the stove and preparing to take it down to Billy.

I felt Leah's eyes on the side of my face as I ate.

_You told my mother that you wanted to grow old with me._

_Are you going somewhere? Is there someone else? Is he hotter than me?_

_No, but, Jamie you can't just tell someone's mother that you want to be with them forever. _

_We're Matched. We share a soul. Even if we end up as just friends, we'll be in each other's lives, and besides, I like kissing you, and I can't see myself not liking that anytime soon, so one way or another I'll be covering for you when you sneak out of the nursing home to go flying. _

She laughed out loud and her mother gave her a confused look.

"It's nothing, Mom, would you like me to carry something?"

She handed Leah a plastic container of hot, great smelling soup and then me a container full of rice. Ms. Clearwater grabbed an oven mitten and reached down into the oven pulling out small lumpy buns that smelled like heaven, with hints of cinnamon and raisin.

"I couldn't sleep last night, so I started making these. It's a family recipe, and comforting. I thought they'd sooth you, Leah," she explained as she set them quickly and carefully into a container, "and your brother. Take one please, both of you. It's kind of you to do this; I know you're both exhausted."

Leah didn't respond, just stood and hugged her mother again before taking up the soup container and standing with it, ready to walk down the hill to Billy's.

Ms. Clearwater led the way, and we made quick progress down the hill. As we approached Billy's front door, Leah stopped her mother and asked her for a favor.

"Could you get Charlie out of the room for a minute? We have an invitation to extend to Billy from the Watchers, and it shouldn't wait."

She nodded in reply and went up to the door and knocked. Charlie let us in, giving us a view of Billy, his chair wheeled up to the door of Jacob's bedroom, his grief beyond tears.

"We brought food, Billy," Sue called. "Charlie's going to help me put it in the kitchen for you."

"Thank you, Sue," he said quietly.

When both had left the room, Leah stepped forward and spoke. "We're so sorry for your loss. I was there and… he was incredible, so brave. We, the people who fought in the battle, will be gathering on the beach tomorrow evening to remember those who died during the battle and before. Please come. It'll be… honest, maybe in ways that some of this can't be."

"My girls are coming home. I should be here," Billy sighed. "Don't even know what I'll tell them."

"We understand if you can't. If there's anything I can do, please, don't hesitate to ask," she told him. "We're meeting at sunset."

I stood back, content to let her speak for us. A few minutes later, when Ms. Clearwater came out of the kitchen with Charlie, she sent us back to her house to 'take care of some things'. Some things, of course, being ourselves.

Leah showered first, and while she did I looked around her room. There were familiar things, like the feather I'd pulled out of her hair a few weeks before. There were unfamiliar things, a half crumpled note written to 'Lee-lee' and a picture of her family before her father died. The picture was in a popsicle stick frame with a word that wasn't in English on the top. I sat down in the chair at her desk and the next thing I knew Leah was waking me up to take my own shower.

She waited outside the door and put my clothes in the laundry with hers when I handed them to her, reaching my hand out through the mostly closed door. When I finished I put on a robe she'd left for me to borrow and slipped back into her room. She was wearing pajamas, long grey sweatpants and a black tank top, and she was looking down at a book in her lap. I sat next to her and looked closer. It was an old yearbook. She cried, slow, big tears, and I grabbed a brush from her desk and ran it through her hair as she grieved for her lost friend. Wiping her face, she reached up and took the brush from my hand.

_Like this._ She showed me how to do it right, from brushing out the tangles to making a simple braid at the back of her head. _Always finish with this, it's very important, _she said before pulling my arms around her. _He should have had this. _

The dryer went off and Leah grabbed our clothes. I went to the bathroom to put mine on while she folded hers and put them away. We went downstairs around six to find Leah's mother sitting next to Seth on the couch. She ran her hand through his hair and he leaned into it, taking comfort. Leah walked over and sat on his other side, taking his hand, but I backed up and sat on the stairs. Leah needed her family right now, and they needed her without the awkwardness of my trying to fit into the scene.

We rested in those positions for about half an hour before Leah got up and broke the silence.

"We should go. We're having a massive sleepover tonight at Jamie's and his mother wanted us there by seven," she told her mom and brother. "I don't know how long the memorial tomorrow will take but I'll try to make it home afterwards."

There was hugging and Leah ran upstairs to grab something to wear the next day, but then we were off, driving back towards my parent's house in the borrowed car.

"I think we'll get this right someday," Leah said as she drove. "Thanks for trying to help."

"Maybe we should have a Star Trek marathon and analyze Kirk and Spock for tips," I suggested.

She managed a smile and we prepared to meet up with everyone again.

* * *

The house smelled like Chinese food when we walked through the door and the cloud of sadness that we'd lived in for much of the afternoon dissipated like so much mist in the light of the rising sun; there was music playing and people laying out bed cushions and covering them with sheets and comforters.

Jack and Izzy made their way over to us. There was something somber in Izzy's face but she was smiling anyway as she greeted us. "Hey guys! There's Chinese food on the table if you're hungry. All the younger Watchers are sleeping in the living room or in the dining room, the heads are sleeping in the guest room and everyone else is in Jack's room, your dad's office or your room. All the doors except for the bathroom are open and anything goes as long as no one is subjected to further trauma."

"Mom is going to explain about tomorrow night's memorial tomorrow morning. Tonight we celebrate being together and alive," Jack finished. They walked with us into the dining room and sat with us while we ate.

"How is everyone?" I asked between bites of lo mein.

"We're… it varies," Jack said, carefully. "Mom, Dad, Colby, and Hade have all been sitting in the guest room doing the formal reporting to the Watchers and trying to work out their feelings over Andrew. Clearly the rave twins are good."

We all stopped and watched them grinning and coordinating the music and the lights. They looked largely untouched by the morning's activities. Later I'd realize that they, as much as everyone else, carried their sadness in subtle ways, in the length of shared gazes and in their reluctance to move away from each other even in the motions of a dance, or to help make sure everyone would have a pillow.

Jack continued, reporting, "The Magic Act is okay. Razi's in the shower and Daniel is helping setting up sleeping areas in Jack's room. Mac and Wes are at the Cullens' using Emmett's web cam to talk to their families. Everyone else is around, so you can see for yourself."

I could. Indrani and Elisa were dancing badly in the hallway, while the twin brothers, Delshad and Navid danced considerably better as they brought in another comforter from the linen closet to add the growing pile of bedding that was stretching across open rooms at the front of the house. Marian was sitting on a sofa watching the goings on, seeming not seeing much. Robin was sitting next to her but she wasn't talking much, either, if at all. I wondered what had happened to her during the battle, then I thought about the state we'd found her in and I wondered if I genuinely wanted to know.

When Leah and I finished eating, we got under the covers near Jack and Izzy. Marian and Robin had been getting into place nearby but Marian, after a long look at Leah, got up and led Robin into a spot close to the door of the guest room, where Hade and Colby were settled near the door.

The lot of us stayed up half the night whispering, exchanging contact information and watching stupidly hilarious cat videos online. A bit after midnight we had an interpretive dance contest, and then we settled down. After the sensory deprivation of being touched by Alec's power hours before, I was glad not to have to sleep alone behind a closed door or in the dark.

"Someone, tell a story." The whisper spread around the house as people passed along the message and expressed their own desires.

Razi took Daniel's hand and the two of them got out from under the covers in the dining room, Daniel dragging a blanket with them to the center of the house. Razi's voice was gentle even as it reached all of us.

"What I am about to tell you is a fairytale and a fiction of the highest order, and as such it is truer than many things that are called fact. There once was a people made of light, who lived in the shadows of a sleeping world. All around each was chaos and deception, but the people of light believed that they alone could be totally true and fair. And they gazed down upon a world that they could not relate to. If they could be honest how small must the rest of the world be by comparison? How young and uninformed? In their arrogance they missed a shadow that slipped in and dimmed their light…"

This is how we go on. We rest in the company of friends. We make myths of what truths we cannot face head on. We honor this life by living it, and when we can we honor the dead through remembrance.

* * *

"I remember Alba Mariano," Niccolo intoned.

We stood on the beach with the setting sun, painting the sky with glorious pinks and oranges. Standing in a wide circle around a large, yellow burning, driftwood fire, and holding hands, first we acknowledged those we'd lost the day before. Then we went around the circle, which contained all those still living who fought in the battle and Billy, who'd left his daughters sleeping at home, and we remembered those who we'd lost before the battle.

"I remember Jacob Black," Izzy said, her voice heavy with emotions like love and sadness and pride.

There was a pause and then Haydn squeezed his eyes shut before opening them and squaring his shoulders, announcing, "I remember Andrew Phillips."

Without having planned to, we took a moment of silence. My mother remembered her mother, and the second part of the ritual began.

"I remember Amanda Stevens," my father said. She was an aunt of mine that died when he was young. There were other names as we went around the circle. Colby remembered Emilia, who Andrew had loved above all.

When we came to the Cullen family, who were bookended by groups of Watchers to make things easier, Carlisle spoke, "I remember Didyme."

Esme followed up with, "I remember Marcus."

At first I wondered why his name hadn't been said with the others who'd died during the battle, but Leah whispered across the bond, "_You and I both know that he died a long time ago_."

"I remember Elizabeth Masen," Edward said when his turn came. Rosalie and Emmett both remembered relatives from their human lives as well. Alice remembered her sister, Cynthia Brandon.

When it was Leah's turn she said something that made me want to loose my hand from Jack's, who stood beside me, and hold her forever.

"I remember Alexandra Abdima," she said, her voice shaking a little. It seemed to me that the fire burned brighter then. I turned to look at her and the firelight reflected in her eyes. For a second it felt as though my first match power had returned and I felt so much life in that moment, I felt Alex, in my heart I whispered my thanks as the feeling faded.

I remembered my grandfather, and Jack remembered a girl he'd known in middle school that had died from complications with mono. The moment passed.

"I remember Kristin Cadwallader," Kayla said, her eyes closing as she tried to hold strong in spite of the rush of grief washing over her as she said her mother's name. Jess used her turn to remember Kayla's father. "I remember Michael Cadwallader."

I felt Leah squeeze my hand as Seth said, "I remember Harry Clearwater."

The last one to speak was Billy, ending the ritual with, "I remember Sarah Black."

We all let go of each other's hands and stood around awkwardly for a couple of minutes. Then Nicco spoke up, "I think I will miss my Alba most in moments like this. She could never abide awkwardness. It made her laugh a bit nervously. We nearly had to elope in secret because my parents thought that she was crazy when they met her."

Tentatively, people began to laugh. There were watery smiles as he continued, "Funnily enough, that was the day I proposed. As the evening descended into madness, her brand of madness made everything else make sense. I never lost my heart to Alba, she never took anything. She always gave. I did, however lose my mind in the best possible way when I met her."

There was hugging and grinning then Izzy offered a story of her own. "Jacob let me help him restore our motorbikes, he was brave like that. Well, our hands got pretty oily while we worked and on one of the last times before the bikes were finished, he dipped his hand in some oil that had leaked out onto the work table and mussed my hair with it. I'd call it an oil fight but it was more like a massacre. I really shouldn't have gotten him in face with one of the rags like I did."

"Mac," Colby said grinning, "Did you ever hear about the evil prank Andy pulled on your father? It's legend in Watcher circles. He hadn't even found his Match but he had Jonathan still raving about how he'd kill him during the conference call that night. It involves a waterslide, marshmallows, paint, and the girlfriend your Dad dumped after he met your mother…"

"Andy tried to tell me once but my father threatened to forbid him from ever speaking to me again," Mac said, grinning. "I swear Wes and I will drop you off in Texas on the way home if you don't tell the story."

"Hell hath no fury like a pissed off little brother in cahoots with a woman scorned," he began and the laughter became a near constant as the group split up and multiple stories were told at once, and then sometimes retold as people in one group caught the enthusiasm from another.

At some point that night, Leah told Billy what Jacob's last words had been. While they talked, I hung out with Kayla and Jess, the rave twins. Kayla looked a bit down so I pulled out my cell phone.

"Hey Kayla, Jess, we haven't hung out so much since you guys got here."

"There was stuff to do," Jess pointed out. "Think we've got some time now though."

There was quiet for a moment before I turned to Kayla. "You're a technopath, right?"

My cell phone made 'you have a text message, open it you dork' sounds and when I did there was a message without a sender that said "I think so, might be a mind reader. You're thinking 'damn that was cool'."

I looked up at Kayla and the two of us simultaneously burst out laughing.

"Think you can trick it out? Maybe give me more memory or make the camera suck less?" I asked.

Kayla looked at me as though I'd just asked Michelangelo to paint a wall with a roller.

"This cell phone is going to be so awesome you'll want to put in a museum and if another phone comes with immortality as a feature, you'll still prefer this one," she said before taking it out of my hands, setting it on the sand, stretching her arms and getting to work. She did all of this with a brilliant smile on her face.

Jess mouthed a thank you at me before settling in to watch Kayla work.

I wandered back toward the fire, which was getting low, and on my way I grabbed a hunk of driftwood to toss into it. I closed my eyes and the heat from the fire became the burning heat of an afternoon in the valley of the sun, where I'd grown up and found love for the first time. I opened my eyes and looked around I saw cacti and mountains superimposed over sand and a cloudy night sky. Leah walked towards me and I saw Alex standing behind her. Around us in the glow from the fire, I saw people we'd remembered before, and then I let it all go. At once I lost the feeling of a home that I'd been gone from for years and people that none of us would ever see again except in our minds, except in the memory of firelight and in the shadows that our longing hearts turned into silhouettes.

A burst of laughter nearby and Leah's hands taking mine brought me back to the world of tangible things. She pulled me too my feet and ran, and I ran with her and together we splashed into the ocean. We stopped in water that reached up to our knees and turned to look back at the others. Everyone was okay and there was laughing and joy and pain deeper than oceans but put away and made less for that night.

It was done and just beginning. Life and the long road towards healing from loss lay ahead, but life and loss are not separate, the watchers have never held them apart, so we danced in the water where Jacob had played with his mother as a very young child. The water was the same water that touched Alba's Italy, and the same water that my brother's Match had nearly drowned in. Maybe some of this water had once fallen as rain on the night when I first kissed Alex. Maybe some of the sand beneath our feet had once rested between Leah and Sam as she told him about her cousin Emily coming to visit.

The dancing in the water stopped when we got tired, the story telling lasted until the first lights began to signal a new day, but Leah and I missed a lot of it. We fell asleep, damp but warm beside the fire, happy to live and grieve in peace.

* * *

Hey guys! only one more chapter and the outtakes left to go! thank you all for your support and I hope to hear from you. The last chapter is being written and when it's good and right i'll post it. to make it easier for me i'll work out the top three reviewers before i reply to reviews and they and the people i mentioned last authors note will be notified so we can work out what outtakes you want.

for a cool turn on reviews if you want to send me "I remember _" statements i'll list them in the Outtakes chapter. please tell me what you think of the chapter too if you decide to do it.

thanks again and i hope to hear from you soon, P_M


	32. Leah and Leaving or Moving Forward

When the sun rose on the morning after the battle, I stood and stretched. The ashes from the fire lay scattered on the sand, not unlike the people sitting around talking, some half asleep, others keeping watch. Most of the Cullens had gone on home at some point, wary of the truce that had let them linger in Quileute territory for the duration of the ritual, but Edward was still there, sitting next to Wes. He and Mac seemed to be talking about something, but I was too sleepy to feel like focusing on them for long. Jack and Izzy were sitting near the water with the Magic Act, talking quietly.

Jamie woke up and sat up, reaching up to take my hand.

"Morning, Leah," he said, kissing the back of my hand. "Go check in at home, we don't have to see the others off till this evening."

"Call me," I said, getting down my knees and leaning over to kiss him. The combined morning breath nearly killed us but it was a little bit worth it. It was the second morning in a row that we'd woken up beside each other, and it occurred to me how easily I could get used to it. I gave his hand a final squeeze before shifting into a hawk and flying towards home.

On the way there, and on a whim, I stopped off at Emily's house. She let me in through the window and we talked wedding plans over coffee.

"Sam should be able to help out now, at least," she said as she smiled, "unless you lot are planning yet another one day war before my wedding."

"I think we're done for the moment. There's probably time for weddings and graduations before fighting comes up again." I grinned back.

"Time for funerals, too. Jacob's is the day after tomorrow. They're calling him a hero, the pack is, when they aren't calling him other things for running off without them," she told me.

"He deserved so much more than what he got. I'm glad he'll be remembered well," I replied. The coffee was hot and sweet and comforting even as I mourned the second chance that Jacob didn't get, and silently thanked the heavens for Jamie.

"I should go, before Sam makes his way back," I told her, "and mom'll be making breakfast by now."

I hugged her before I phased and flew home.

* * *

I was lying on my bed a few hours later, trying to catch up on some reading for school when Jamie's voice came across the bond.

_The International Watchers are getting popped home in about an hour, _he told me, _Niccolo is going first, carrying some of Alba's ashes to spread once he arrives. _

_I'll be there. I promise, _I told him. Jumping out of my window, I phased a couple of inches from the ground, unthinking in my haste to get there before they left.

I'll spare you another speech about my love for flight; I barely noted the wind on the wings myself that day.

They were standing in the living room when I arrived. Nicco looked tired and sad as stood with his and Alba's bags stacked next to him.

"It is good," Nicco said, looking at Jamie and I, "that I will see you both together before I go. Alba always loved to hear news of our friends, the western watchers of this country. It would have a joy for her to know you better, Jamie, but she liked you a great deal. The two of you, and your family, will always have friends in Italy."

"As you and yours will here, old friend," Mary Stevens said stepping forward and embracing him, hugging him so that the urn he carried was included in the gesture.

"Thank you, Nicco. Please, don't let it consume you like my grief for Alex did me," Jamie asked of him sadly.

"La mia alba ha rotto da me." _My dawn has broken from me._ "I have lost my days and nights. What remains to me are the ashes of a sun departed forever from the horizon. I promise to try, but as you carried your pain, so I must carry mine. I'll write to you."

Jamie stepped forward and hugged him as his mother had, and with a nod to Mac and Wes from Nicco, they were gone.

We turned to Indrani and Elisa, the two Watchers who'd been the first from their area to volunteer. For them we had only thanks and kind words, which we offered before rushing to get in a last word or two with the twins, Delshad and Navid, who were sitting with others from their region.

There was hugging and promises to contact one another outside of the conference calls. Friendships made in trenches are strong ones, and none of us wanted to lose them.

When Mac and Wes popped back in, they gathered in the living room while Jamie and I stepped back to let Haydn, Colby, and my parents handle final goodbyes while they got ready to leave. Mac and Wes had a snack, trail mix and some chopped up apples, before they stood, made contact with all of the middle-eastern Watchers, and disappeared.

After that, we had some down time. The Georgia Watchers were flying home, thank God, so that Colby and his nullifying powers wouldn't get them stranded in the middle of nowhere or on the roof again. Their flight wasn't due to leave until later that evening so there was time to goof off.

Jamie and I went to sit on the front porch with Izzy, Jack and the Magic Act. Marian still seemed to be avoiding me at all costs, so I thought it best to make myself scarce. She lingered near Haydn and Colby, speaking less and seeming smaller when they went off to check something or talk with my parents.

I looked at her and wondered where she'd gone, the girl who'd stepped to me and told me that she was no one's gun toting menace to be disarmed, who'd made me dance and fly for her, proud to show off her skills.

Suddenly I found myself looking at Daniel, gods he was amazing to see. I don't know what it was about him but…

"Sorry," he said turning off the effect, "but you were thinking pretty hard and I didn't want to startle you to get your attention. What's on your mind?"

I glanced around and saw Izzy and Jack playing against Razi and Jamie in an invisible game of chess before answering, "Mags. Think she'll be ok?"

"I hope so. I thought you didn't like her," he replied.

"She scared me, but she's got a spine in her and I respect that. If I can help bring her out of this, say the word," I corrected him.

"Will do, but I think she might just need time," he sighed then he looked over at the two teams playing chess. "Bet you five bucks that Jack is cheating but Razi is winning, with an extra dollar on Izzy having no idea what's happening on the board?"

I laughed before taking both bets. When the Rave twins wandered outside, we got them to play bank, and handed them six dollars each.

Mac and Wes came back and said their goodbyes to the Georgia Watchers just before we piled into the van that the Cullens had rented for us and road to the airport in Port Angeles. The pair was tired and overextended and having problems acting as separate people. Jamie and I nearly volunteered to wait and sit with them but Edward showed up.

When asked why, he answered with a single word: "Alice."

So we went and dropped them and their luggage off at the airport.

I gave the twelve dollars I'd won to Daniel and Razi so they could buy a snack before they got on the plane. Then, in the crowded airport, we stood and tried to find a way to let each other go. Knowing that it could be years before we all met again, knowing that the life we'd chosen was dangerous, that one who'd come to fight had left us as sure as the morning sun leaves the horizon, we had to say goodbye. The Stevens and Phillips clasped hands, Haydn with both of Jamie's parents and Marian with Izzy and Jack. Colby came around took mine and Jamie's hands, murmuring, "From the Phillips, and as an honorary Phillips myself, know that our friendship persists."

I'm told that the words aren't always said, that they are usually understood, but with Jamie and I having joined and returned to the fold so recently, they were needed. Jack and Izzy had been offered a similar sentiment from Marian, who'd begun, "From the Phillips, my mother's blood and my legacy in part" and continued as Colby had.

Our responses were the same. Jamie went first to show Jack, Izzy, and I what to do, "As does the fealty of the Stevens, blood and honorary alike."

With the bonds between the two families confirmed, we turned to the others and with hugs and sad smiles sent them on their way.

Then we went back to the Stevens's home.

Mac and Wes had transferred to Forks high, and they stayed through to graduation, which Wes's mom and Mac's parents flew out to see. They still did work as Watchers, we all did, but with the Volturi gone and the battle fought, we could all breathe easier. Of course we did have our friends to worry about… but you'll have to ask them.

* * *

Stories like ours don't get much press. They aren't favorites and kids don't ask for them at bedtimes. I'm still a bit surprised that you came knocking to ask about it, but then, you're trying to get the whole story, so I don't suppose that you had much of a choice.

Ours is a story of second chances. At the lowest point in either of our lives, we found each other and life was suddenly less of a bitch, and by extension so was I. I'm not sure what else can be said.

I love Jamie. He and I are exactly right for each other in so many ways that I can't help but believe him when he says that Alexandra somehow made his soul fit with mine. I know her better now. Izzy let me read the things that Alex left for her and between that and Jamie's memories, I know her better than many did when she was alive. She was a master of second chances. She set mine up with skill and love and for that I am forever grateful. What she has taught me, what my second chance and telling this story have taught me, is that the thing about second chances, is that they're contagious.

Life is a series of second chances, and it and this story are bigger than any single pair or plot. As I finish out this story, our part in this grand narrative, I wish you strength, and the courage to keep asking questions; that's important. I can't know what secrets you'll learn moving forward, but I have all faith that you will be up to the task of keeping them.

* * *

Author's note:

It's a short ending to a long story, but I come bearing news. Some friends and readers of mine came to me months ago and asked me if they could write some things set in the World of the Watchers after I finished this. I agreed and they became my editors, so that they could help shape this story and have me introduce characters that they could write about.

This fic and its predecessor Waking Up are my babies. Please trust that I would not hand my babies over to people who'd make them less enjoyable to read. Thank you for supporting and loving my babies here. You're all amazing and I love you, even y'all cute little moochers who don't review. Thanks so much.

So what's coming?

** outtakes** are in progress, and though this story will be declared complete on the site, I will be posting the outtakes soon.

2.**Insomnia** : the story of what the heck happened with Wes and Edward during and after Rising is the next project on my list, co-written with E. C. Hater, one of my esteemed editors. If you've missed the Cullens in this fic, or want more Mac and Wes, this is for you. **Excerpt:**

_You are apparently a very nosy person. You went to Izzy and Jack and to Jamie and Leah asking questions about that crucial time in history and managed to hear their stories. You've even heard parts of mine and Mac's (Wave to him; he's out there having a discussion with Jasper about the emotional effects of music). Now you come to me – yes, fine, Edward, us – with questions._

_Or rather, one question (and here I quote): "When the hell did that happen?" _

3.**Falling**: follows the Georgia Watchers after they arrive home and end up dealing with trouble in South America. Several chapters are done and will be posted soon. It's written by my other esteemed editor The Golden Wytch. **Excerpt**:

"_Back to our normal, humdrum lives as usual, I suppose." I announced as I took my seat at the table._

_But I spoke too soon. _

_Not two seconds after the words were out of my mouth; there was a blinding flash of light. When our vision cleared, there was a very tall man standing in the middle of the kitchen. He had a long face and alabaster skin that looked as smooth as silk._

4.**Dreaming**: Sherwood puts in their two cents worth. And there are faeries. **Excerpt**:

_I am going to say something in my defense, here, because the common theme of anyone who hears this story is, "Well, DUH."_

_I have no reason to think y'all will be any different._

_Yes, I am an empath. Yes, this means I read emotions. Also affect them, depending on mood, timing, and the other person's relative… giftedness._

_But the thing about emotions is that they're very difficult to interpret. Different people feel slightly differently with each emotion, and while this is great for long range identification purposes, it's not so great for figuring out if your Match is in love with you._

**There is a Community where you'll be able to find these fics**. It's called "Watcher!verse Fics" and you can find it through my profile. I'll also put up links to the separate stories on my profile. Please give them a chance and review them. If you're already planning to read them let me know!

I'll see you in the outtakes! Most of the people getting them have been told, and they'll be as awesome as I can make them.

For those who won't read them, it's been awesome writing for you, yours in this capacity, P_M


	33. Outtakes!

Hey guys. Welcome to the outtakes chapter. Remember nothing in this chapter is actually part of the story; they are strictly for fun and for exploring what ifs.

The first outtake was requested by one of my editors who challenged me to write an outtake about some certain characters playing Mario Kart. I have never played Mario Kart. Forgive me for the lack of game-play described here.

Hope you like it, oh Golden one, and I know where you tweet, so … let me know how I did.

* * *

"Kayla's going to win," Alice said cheerfully for the fourth game in a row. Jess and Emmett rolled their eyes, then Emmett answered, "There's still time."

It was a scene that had played out repeatedly over the course of the evening. The three of them would start a race, Alice would see and proclaim the winner, and then one of the other two would deny it. Inevitably Alice would be right and they'd start another game continuing the cycle that was quickly starting to bug the three individuals playing.

In the past days they'd overcome such nuisances as Edward's emo distracting those without superhuman powers of concentration, Rosalie's desire to spend time with her husband, and the small matter of preparing for a battle that could claim all of their lives. Having faced all of these trials and come out well… alive and gaming, it was insane that they might be brought low by a tiny, annoying, wisp of a thing like Alice.

Independently the three of them decided that enough was enough. Alice was going down.

Emmett made the first go of it.

"Alice, I bet Jasper would love to hang out with you. All these humans around all the time, I'll bet he needs the support," he said, nearly managing to sound entirely casual.

"Good thinking, Emmett," she replied.

For an instant he believed that he'd done it. She stood and moved towards the door but then stopped.

"You should come with me. He could definitely benefit from the support of a brother," Alice said somberly.

Realizing that he'd been busted, Emmett rolled his eyes and went back to the race, which he already knew that he was going to lose. Thank you again, Alice.

Next up to bat was Kayla.

"Hey Alice," she started, failing utterly at matching even Emmett's artless portrayal of a casual attitude, "Edward's clothes are looking kind of rough. If you want to go pick some things out for him online, I can trick the site into giving you coupons or just giving you stuff that wouldn't have sold anyway, like samples and such."

Alice smiled. She looked genuinely happy about the prospect of shopping for her brother as she replied, "That's a lovely idea. You should come with me and pick out something for yourself. We could have them shipped wherever you'd like, of course, so you don't have to worry that anything you chose wouldn't find you in a timely manner."

"Aw shit, I mean… it can wait," Kayla said in defeat.

Kayla and Emmett turned to Jess. She was their last hope.

Jess took a deep breath before surprising both Kayla and Emmett with an entirely new approach.

"Come play with us."

Alice danced over and picked up a controller.

"I'm going to win the next race," she replied with a cheerful smile.

Jess won it instead, and they knew that their latest challenge had been happily overcome.

There was peace, love, and Mario Kart forever more, or at least until they had to split up for training.

* * *

AN: Next up we have one for my loyal reviewer NotSoSlightlyCrazy. She gave me two ideas for reviews that I loved and the second one is later on. This first one is a 'what if Jacob had lived' fic entitled "Five Times Jacob Regretted Being Saved and The one time He was Thankful".

I hope you like it, and I know it's a tiny bit of a downer at first but hang with me because it does in fact go places.

* * *

Five times Jacob Black Regretted being saved, and the one time he was thankful

1. He was lying in the dirt, waiting for the rest of the pack to come find him. Haydn had just done the impossible. He'd made the gaping hole near the base of his neck where the leech had torn into him into sensitive new skin over functioning veins and muscles and nerves.

Jacob was looking at Izzy. He'd planned to make her the last thing he saw.

As Jack Stevens and his brother ran up to their respective Matches, hugging them, holding them even as they thanked Jacob for risking his life, it happened. His last sight, her concerned face, morphed into the arms of yet another strange outsider taking away the girl he'd seen and loved first. He saw the loving relief on Jack's face and saw the joy in Leah as her second chance persisted, and he knew that there was nothing for him there. He felt maybe that there was nothing for him anywhere. He turned to Haydn and looked on him with bitterness in his tired eyes, it was happening.

Haydn looked back for a moment before sending the other Watchers to see to the clean up while Jacob rested. "Best I could do," he said, "I'm too tired to break you again." _  
_

2. He was sitting at a table, fingers toying idly with a fork as Emily and Sam danced for the first time as husband and wife. Moments before, Emily had thrown the bouquet with a look of mischief in her eyes. She'd untied it and flowers had flown over her shoulder into the waiting hands of the unmarried women behind her. Ms. Clearwater had gotten most of them, though Leah, Bella, and one of his sisters had caught flowers as well. As he watched Sue and Charlie exchange blushing half smiles, he knew that yet another person had gotten a second chance before him.

Everyone was so happy, even Jacob a little bit, though he didn't relish the thought of having Sam in his head again after the honeymoon. Still, he couldn't help but feel as though sitting alone at a reception was the closest he'd get to this whole deal.

"Jacob, dance with me?" Izzy asked, smiling brightly.

"Sure thing Bells, I mean Izzy." She replied.

She fit in his arms. She smelled wonderful. He looked down and savored the sight of her hand in his. Then he looked up and the gravity of his world shifted. With a single, unrepeatable thought it happened again. Regret warred with devotion as his heart was stolen from the girl he'd wanted to make his last sight, and given to one Renée Esmerie Johnson, a visiting friend of Emily's.

3. The first time they fought, Jacob found himself sitting on the curb in front her dorm, feeling absolutely miserable. He was what she needed for him to be and she couldn't decide whether she needed him close enough to yell at, or far enough away to miss. So he sat there and he felt like the lowest life form on the planet because he'd lashed out, pissed that he'd imprinted on the only one of Leah's friends who went to school with Izzy. He'd been pissed that though they'd been going out for nearly two years, and he'd been friends with Izzy for longer than that, he'd found out that Izzy was transferring to a school in phoenix from an email that Nessie had left open on her laptop. He'd been pissed and for the first time since he'd imprinted, he'd been less than what she needed for him to be and acted as though he didn't love her more than air.

It was all fucked up and he'd hurt her and he wasn't sure that she'd even ultimately decide that she needed him in her life at all.

It happened and it continued till he fell asleep on the sidewalk, and she came out and covered him with a blanket.

4. He was sitting in some stupid restaurant with some stupid French name that he couldn't pronounce but that Nessie loved dearly and he felt stupid. He loved her. He really, truly, loved this girl who'd forced herself into his life and his secrets by showing up to the wedding that day. He was wearing a suit he'd taken to the cleaners, and in his pocket was something handed down from his grandmother.

He said at least three stupid things during dinner, only two of which had made her laugh and damn it but he couldn't breathe. He was so nervous.

As the meal and his chance came to a close he found himself saying pretty words to her as he carefully moved to one knee.

"…What I'm trying to say is, Renée Esmerie Johnson, Will you marry me?" he asked.

She started crying, and for a moment he misinterpreted her tears and it happened again.

Then she said yes, and threw her arms around him.

5. There were complications. That's what the soulless bastard in the scrubs and fresh pair of blue gloves had called it. Complications. What a joke. It was perfectly simple, what was happening to Renée Esmerie Black and her …it.

She'd come into the hospital pregnant. He'd come in with her, a married man and soon to be father. He might leave a widower and not a father. She, they, were dying.

He understood that. It wasn't complicated at all.

Giving birth was hard. Being born was hard, particularly being born early. So now, in some room down the hall that they'd kicked him out of, Jacob Black's wife and child were fighting for their lives. He didn't even know whether the child was a boy or a girl.

The woman he loved was dying and he'd never hold their baby, and it happened until sometime later when…

1. It's a girl. A girl named Amelia, to strive. She came into the world fighting and her mother fought too and they both won.

She was pinkish and squirmy and clearly did not like the plastic box they put her in to protect the world from her strength. It was time to go home though so it was just that last minute.

Nessie was standing next to him and they waited while the nurse wrapped her up good and tight and put the booties on her hands and feet to keep her from beating up people who cooed over how small and pinkish and squirmy she was. The nurse handed her to Nessie first, as she always did, and Jacob watched, too scared to hold his little fighter; too afraid that he'd be one round too many in the fight she waged against the dangerous world outside of the horrid plastic box.

Nessie's needs still dictate his life though, and now she needs a husband who can hold their baby, who can be a father. More importantly, Amelia needs him to be that.

When she places the baby in Jacob's arms, it happens, and it never goes away or stops. The one time he feels thankful is every moment for the rest of his life.

* * *

AN: Next we have a fic requested over a year ago by Preistessoffreya. She wanted to read about Izzy realizing that she was pregnant through a vision, with a little something else thrown in…

Again, I thank you for your support and I hope that you like this!

* * *

I met my baby boy on the night he came into being.

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Wednesday, I think; just an ordinary day in my marriage to my soulmate. We did dishes and laundry, and watched Def Jam Poetry while drinking cream soda. When we were done we put the bottles into a bin. We'd been using special paint to stain the glass bottles and putting them on shelves in front of the windows in our house. The effect was beautiful in the light of the setting sun, the colors bringing rooms to life and reminding us of how extraordinary simple things could be.

I was touching one of the bottles in our bedroom window, where we'd but golden browns and sepia tones in loving mockery of our old soul, when Jack came up behind me, laying loving kisses on the back of my neck and whispering, "Will my lady know her husband?"

"She should," I teased, "and well after these many years."

"Then let me rephrase-"

I interrupted him with a kiss and hours later I woke up and reached down, laying my hand over the still flat area just beneath my belly.

The vision was like this.

_I was lying in bed, hiding from the cold air that had struck me like lightning when I'd shifted and uncovered a spot on the back of my neck not covered by my pajamas. I turned over and looked out of the window. It was still dark outside. _

_I sat up quickly when I heard Jack talking to someone in the hall. _

"_Now, don't go waking your mom up, my prince. I just think she'd love to see both of her boys when she wakes up in a few hours, don't you?" _

_I closed my eyes, laid back, and did as good of a job faking sleep as I could, and soon a small warm body was laid down next to me and a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. Jack must have been really tired because I heard him breathing in sleep a moment later. I opened my eyes and focused on the small child. _

_He had hair like mine and a tiny approximation of Jack's nose. He squirmed into me, his head nudging at my chest as though seeking his next meal even as he slept. It was then that I realized how different my body felt. I was rounder. I felt the extra curve of my hip and my stomach, and a stinging place on my breast where he'd bitten me while nursing. I reached a hand up and pulled him closer marveling at the feel of his small self expanding and contracting with each breath. He was amazing; all softness and fragility and trust. _

_I loved him. _

_My soul felt drenched in that truth and I wondered how I'd ever let him fall asleep in another room. I wondered how I ever let him out of my sight at all. I loved that boy, and I wanted pluck stars from the sky and make them his night lights. I wanted to capture seas in snow-globes and shake them up so he could watch the fishes dance. _

_I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by the feeling. _

Then I woke up and I marveled at the thought that he was coming. I didn't even know his name, but I knew that I'd love him, and that Jack would love him, and that someday I'd wake up with my boys both close enough to touch. There couldn't be a heart beat yet, too soon, but I imagined that there must already be a little soul there, a tiny half of an incomplete soul that would someday find a Match.

I didn't have to tell you any of that but… it's so incredible. I still haven't met him yet. We still haven't settled on a name, but I know he's coming. He's not alone either. The next night I had another vision. His cousin should be coming any day now.

* * *

AN: This next one is the second one requested by NotSoSlightlyCrazy.

It is a Mac/ Wes Romance. It's from Mac's POV and I hope you like it!

* * *

I know Wes like… well like I know Wes. It's a saying in the Watchers, not unlike 'I know this like the pope knows the bible', or 'like the back of my hand'. I've actually heard people say it too. They say things like 'it's the truth and I know it like Mac knows Wes'.

I've known her since I was seven. I walked into class on the first day of second grade and my eyes found hers and I knew we were going to be friends. I've been half out of my mind, and half in hers ever since. I know everything about her and more than that I know everything within her. She's my Match, and my best friend.

We've gone on countless missions together, bringing supplies to Watchers who couldn't leave their positions, facilitating face to face discussions between arguing parties in conference calls, fighting the forces that threatened to destroy the balance, and most importantly, popping over to King's Cross in England to read the last harry potter book near platform 9 and 3/4. I challenge anyone to claim that they can know her better than me.

So don't think it arrogant or proud of me in any way when I say that even though she kissed _him_ after the battle, she loves me. I'm an empath, I make people feel what music feels, but it only works because I can also know what they feel. Because our powers always center in little ways around our matches, I always know what she feels, without trying, like breathing, like I know my own name. She loves me, and not only as a friend. She loves me like I love her.

I always knew that someday she'd come running up to me and kiss me and tell me that we were going to date, and get married, and have kids, and that I had no say in the matter. That's who Wes is. All unstoppable will, and world shaping fire, she sets the rules of the spaces she inhabits. I am the one being in her world that can't be shaped, a constant immoveable feature in the mercurial landscape of a world that she can literally shift, topple, and rebuild all with the power of her mind. I was so sure that she knew me, knew my feelings for her, and was waiting until she felt ready to add dimensions to our already close relationship.

She proved me wrong when she kissed him.

I should have realized that she didn't have my power, couldn't read the nuances of my affection for her as I could read hers. She kissed Edward. High on the thrill of the battle and needing to affirm life, she kissed him, made out with him on the battle field. So what did I do about it? Let me tell you.

It was the night after the battle; just hours after we'd finished burning the bodies of our loved ones, when Wes and I had just finished using Emmett's web cam to see our families.

"Ok, Wes, love you too," Ms. Alders said, before getting off of Skype.

"Thank you, Emmett," I said knowing he'd hear me, and then I turned to Wes. "Let's make a stop off at the beach before we go back to the Stevens'."

"Which one?" Wes asked taking my hand and beginning to search for the bond in her mind, it took a moment because she was tired and had used her powers more intensely than usual. I did the same, sending her an image of first beach. She countered with an image of a cliff that Izzy had shown her and I agreed silently. We held the image in our minds as I found the bond, then my mind and her mind became one and ours, and soon we appeared on the cliff at first beach. The moon was bright and the water was as calm as it ever was as it broke in small white lines of waves on the rocks near the base of the cliffs.

"What's on your mind?" she asked. It went without saying that we'd come here to talk privately.

"You," I replied.

"And?"

"Something I want to show you." I told her, sitting so my legs hung over the side of the cliff, "I know you don't like to, but I want you to use my Match power."

"But we're alone," she commented, "I'd only be picking up on _your_ emotions."

"Exactly."

Within moments we were meditating and then, as easily as she could see with my eyes, hear with my ears, she was using my power.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to think about something and then I need for you to tell me what I feel," I instructed. She gave me a look. Why did I want to train now, when we'd fought for our lives that morning?

I thought about a cousin of mine.

"Love and friendship," Wes recited, carefully and impatiently, slipping the answer from my mind. I let her do it, to make things easier.

I thought about my mother. And Wes froze taking in the intensity of the same feelings, mixed with how much I missed her, and respected her.

"You're jealous," she said, picking up on a feeling that I hadn't intended her to catch.

"You kissed him," I replied, "but this isn't about that, this is about us. You are all I'm thinking about right now. What do I feel?"

"Impatience," she told me, stopping and working through them one at a time, "hope, and…Mac, you…"

"Don't think about what I'm feeling now. Think about me, or don't think, just feel," I told her. She did, finally coming to sit next to me. I felt her astonishment.

"You knew? All this time?"

"And I felt it too. I thought you knew. You know me better than anyone and you've used my powers before," I reminded her, looking into her eyes.

"I always knew you loved me. You're my best friend; love is a part of that. How could I know that you were waiting for me to pounce you?" she snapped then sort of stopped.

"Before I do this you should know that I didn't kiss him because I couldn't have you. I kissed him because he was hot and amenable to it. Now that I know how you feel, I'd probably do the same thing, because kissing a guy that hot is the kind of thing you brag to your grandchildren about," she informed me.

She stood then used her power to pull me to my feet then push me away from the cliff's edge, over land. Then, she raised her hand, as she still did for smaller more controlled uses of her power, and with a beckoning curl of her index finger pulled my face close to hers. She leaned forward and kissed me.

We didn't make out.

We feasted, we lingered, we played, we explored, we tried, and learned, and delighted.

Finally, after over a decade of loving each other, and knowing each other like…well, like I knew Wes, we opened a new door to a new dimension of our relationship. We slept beside each other surrounded by friends in the Stevens's living room and in the morning she rolled over and kissed me. There was a grieving widower to comfort, and a house full of elevated emotions, and a tenuous truce between old enemies to mediate, but I knew Wes. I knew the taste of her lips and the intensity she threw into everything, even a kiss after a sleepover with friends, and so the world was beautiful.

* * *

AN: The last outtake is an Authors choice one. I wrote this in part in reaction to being asked for a Mac/Wes romance because … If you knew how I'd intended for those two characters to come across, the concept of the two of them together is a bit squicky, because they _are _half in each other's minds all of the time, and because they've been that way since age seven there's a degree of codependence there that, in Canon, should preclude the formation of an actual relationship.

That is what I intended, but I do know that once it was published I left it to you to interpret and I'm thrilled that anyone likes them enough and appreciates the closeness of them enough to want them to have a grand romance. This is not a reproach of anyone who believes that they should get together in the story.

It's the story of the week before Mac and Wes came to Forks, from Mac's POV.

* * *

During the week before we left for Forks, I woke up every morning to the sound Wes murmuring idly into the bond as she dreamt. _No Mac, I wanna fight the dragon. Mac, who made the purple elephants orange? Mac, where are we? Is it you or are you part of the dream? Be here with me, Mac. _

_I always am, Wes, _I thought back sleepily_, like Ruth and Elisha. _I invoked the names of two biblical figures who'd made loving promises to stay; 'may the lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us' and 'as the lord lives and you yourself live, I'll never leave you'. I brushed my teeth while she went over our schedules for the day and we went back and forth over what things we should pack while we showered, a building's worth of walls and rooms between us.

When my mother set breakfast in front of me, she greeted me with "Good morning Michael and Elizabeth" because she was so used to Wes being there, just behind my eyes, using my senses in brief flashes, as I did with her, occasionally glancing around my kitchen and seeing Wes's mom's ceramic teapot instead of my mom's coffee maker, or looking down at my hands while I ate and seeing a flash of pale wrists bearing a watch and ponytail holders or the view outside of a window, or her mother's face.

We both woke up an hour before we had to, so that we could meditate in the mornings after breakfast and before school. We alternated weeks of meditating at one apartment or the other, the chief difference being that my parents knew details and Wes's mom didn't, so we had to teleport from a hall closet to school when we meditated at her place. Ms. Alders had made me a key a couple of years before, so I met Wes at the door to her bedroom and after she said I could enter, we climbed through her window and sat back to back on the fire escape. We slipped into meditation and then fought through the feelings of contentment and completion to get down to business.

_Mac, you have to be more careful. I can't be all day-dreamy during practice because you projected your feelings about new audio software. _

_Wes, I'll work on it when we train later, but you've got to hold yourself back from giving me the answer when I think about it in History. I'm asking myself, if you happen to catch it, consider it a rhetorical question. _

_But you were going to…and I should let you. You're right; I'll make sure you want to know next time. Did we wander dreams again last night?_

_Not that I know of, I woke up before you. _

This was meditation for us, coming together and working out how to keep ourselves exactly as separate as we needed to be.

Afterwards we went to school. _Wes did you take my notes? Please ask the teacher about that problem from yesterday, and then stop torturing her._ I slipped into her mind for schedule information and she used my knowledge of our locker numbers and computer passwords. In classes we tried to keep out of each other's minds but any skill we'd learned after meeting each other had cooperative components. Our minds had grown like trees planted too closely together and things slipped across the bond in both directions. After school, we did separate extra-curricular activities Wes played some sport or another and I worked with the A.V club. We met in a study room in the library after we were both done and popped to my family's apartment for training.

Lately, we'd been trying to give our teleporting a work out, so training had involved going further distances with less rest time.

"So where are you two headed today?" My mother asked. She was standing in the doorway of my bedroom when we appeared.

"Let's go to Disney World, ride Space Mountain, and then hang out with Andrew and then-" Wes started.

"We'll work it out, and we'll call if we end up having dinner somewhere else," I interrupted.

Wes pointed out, "If it's something exotic we'll bring you some, Ms. Phil, we know the rules."

"Be careful, and if you spend more than a couple of hours in one place, call so we can tell the head Watchers in that area," my mother told us.

Then Wes and I clasped hands and, meeting at the center of the bond between us, we popped away into a usually crowded area near the line for Space Mountain.

We had dinner with Andrew and his wife that first night, though we did actually go home for most of them, more often to Wes's than mine because my parents were understanding, and it felt mean to leave Wes's mother to eat alone.

After dinner, with an extra dessert for Wes because Uncle Andy liked to spoil her when he could. I guess now we know why.

After dinner, we split up physically to do homework, though the bond meant that we might just as well have been in the same room. Like that concept from the Vulcans in Star Trek, never and always touching and touched.

I fell asleep murmuring into the bond as dreams appeared and masked the waking world. _Wes we'll fight all the dragons you want, but first let's see if they're friendly. Wes, what made the statue change? What made the stone heart move? Wes, are you sleeping too? I can't see you anywhere. Have you left me somehow? _

_Never, Like Elisha and Ruth, remember?_ She replied, usually still up and messing around on the internet.

That was how we were, then there was battle, and there was him, and the world changed for us.

* * *

That's All Folks! Please check out the other stories I mentioned as we post them, I'll do an update on this story to announce them and you can subscribe to the community they'll be in, find it through my profile.

Please tell me what you thought of these and I hope you're looking forward to more time with these characters!

Love you all and thanks again for all of your support, if you stumbled upon this after it was all posted, I still hope to hear from you!


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